Polyester compositions

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are polymer compositions comprising: (A) at least one polyester prepared by the reaction of at least one diol with at least one dicarboxylic acid or dialkyl ester thereof in the presence of a metallic catalyst; and (B) at least one salt prepared from the reaction of one or more acidic phosphorus-containing compounds and one or more basic organic compounds which contain nitrogen. The polyester compositions exhibit improved color, especially when used as a component of a polyester/polycarbonate blend. Also disclosed are polymer compositions comprising a polycarbonate in combination with components (A) and (B).

RELATED APPLICATONS

This application claims priority to and the benefit of the followingapplications; U.S. Patent Ser. No. 60/439,681 filed Jan. 13, 2003,incorporated herein by reference; and U.S. patent Ser. No. 10/379,649filed Mar. 5, 2003, incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a polymer composition comprising (A) at leastone polyester prepared by the reaction of at least one diol with atleast one dicarboxylic acid/or dialkyl ester thereof in the presence ofa metallic catalyst; and (B) a salt composed of at least one suitablephosphorus-containing acid and at least one suitable basic organiccompound, such as a hindered amine light stabilizer. A second embodimentof the present invention pertains to a blend of (A) at least onepolyester prepared by the reaction of at least one diol with at leastone dicarboxylic acid/or dialkyl ester thereof in the presence of ametallic catalyst; (B) a salt composed of at least one suitablephosphorus-containing acid and at least one suitable basic organiccompound and (C) a polycarbonate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Methods for deactivating metallic catalyst residues in polyester andpolyester-polycarbonate compositions are known in the art; however, itis desirable to find improved methods for deactivating such residues. Itis also desirable to find methods for deactivating catalyst residuesthat provide compositions with greater hydrolytic stability, that areless detrimental to process equipment, provide better color, and lessbatch-to-batch variation in color.

It is known in the art that certain phosphorus-containing compounds areuseful for deactivating metallic catalysts residues. Reference is made,for example, to U.S. Pat. No. 3,218,372 (Okamura et al.), U.S. Pat. No.4,532,290 (Jaquiss et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 4,088,709 (Seymour et al.),U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,804 (Wooten et al.), U.S. Pat. No. 5,922,816(Hamilton) and European Patents 0543125 (Van Helmond), 0294862(Verhoeven), 0295730 (Verhoeven). Examples of such phosphorus-containingcompounds include phosphoric acid, certain organic phosphorus compoundssuch as distearylpentaerythritol diphosphite, mono-, di-, andtrihydrogen phosphate compounds, or di- and triester phosphatecompounds, phosphite compounds, certain inorganic phosphorus compoundssuch as monosodium phosphate, zinc or calcium phosphates,poly(ethylene)hydrogen phosphate, phosphites and phosphates used incombination with elementary sulfur, silyl phosphates, phosphoruscompounds used in combinations with metal sulphides or metal sulphates.U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,933 (Russell) discloses the use of hydroxy- oramino-substituted carboxylic acids such as methyl salicylate, maleicacid, glycine, or dibutyl tartrate to deactivate metal catalystresidues. U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,932 (Brunelle) discloses the use ofdehydroacetic acid and a hydroxy-aromatic compounds such aso-hydroxybenzophenone for inactivating metal catalyst residues. It alsois known that certain polyols such as mannitol can be used to improvethe color of polyester and polycarbonate blends as described in EuropeanPatent 0272417 (Nelson).

U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,956 discloses the combination of2,2,6,6-tetraalkyl-piperidine hindered amine light stabilizers (HALS)and/or their addition salts with triazine ultraviolet absorbers forstabilizing thermoset acrylic and alkyd coatings. U.S. Pat. No.5,714,530 discloses the utility of combining non-polymeric2,2,6,6,-tetraalkyl-piperidine HALS salts and/or their acid additonsalts with triazine ultraviolet light absorbers for stabilizing certainpolymer compositions. U.S. Pat. No. 6,051,164 discloses the use of apolymer stabilizing system comprising from about 50 to about 5,000 ppmof at least one ortho hydroxyl tris-aryl triazine light absorber andfrom about 500 ppm to about 1.25 percent of at least one oligomer,polymeric or high molecular weight HALS having a molecular weight of atleast about 500, wherein the weight ratio of HALS to triazine lightabsorber is from about 3:1 to about 20:1.

Certain of these phosphorus-containing compounds e.g., phosphoric acid,phosphorous acid, and polyphosphoric acid, can react with processingequipment to produce a dark colored polymer and can lead to theformation of black specks or particles. It is believed that the darkcolor is the due to corrosion of the process equipment. Addition ofstrong acids to the polymer compositions also reduces the hydrolyticstability as a result of acid catalyzed hydrolysis. Additionally,phosphite antioxidants can be hydrolyzed to acidic species therebycorroding process equipment or reducing the hydrolytic stability of thepolymer composition. It is desirable to provide an additive or mixtureof additives that can be used to deactivate metal catalyst residues andother metal impurities and thereby improve the color ofpolyester-polycarbonate compositions, lead to less corrosion of processequipment, and suppress transesterification.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

We have discovered that the presence of certain salts in polyesters andblends of polyester and polycarbonates result in polymer compositionsthat exhibit improved hydrolytic stability, that are less detrimental toprocess equipment, that provide better color, and that provide lessbatch-to-batch variation in color. The salts useful in the presentinvention are reaction products of a suitable inorganic acid, such as aphosphorous acid, with a suitable basic organic compound, such ashindered amine light stabilizers (HALS). The present invention providesimproved methods for improving the color and avoiding the deleteriouseffects of transesterification in polyesters and/orpolyester-polycarbonate blends.

Thus, the present invention provides a polymer composition comprising:

-   (A) at least one polyester prepared by the reaction of at least one    diol with at least one dicarboxylic acid or dialkyl ester thereof in    the presence of a metallic catalyst; and-   (B) at least one salt prepared by the reaction of one or more acidic    phosphorus-containing compounds with one or more basic organic    compounds which contain nitrogen.    A second embodiment of the present invention is a polymer    composition comprising:-   (A) at least one polyester prepared by the reaction of at least one    diol with at least one dicarboxylic acid or dialkyl ester thereof in    the presence of a metallic catalyst;-   (B) at least one salt prepared from the reaction of one or more    acidic phosphorus-containing compounds and one or more basic organic    compounds which contain nitrogen; and-   (C) at least one polycarbonate.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a polymer concentratecomprising:

-   (A) at least one polyester prepared by the reaction of at least one    diol with at least one dicarboxylic acid or dialkyl ester thereof in    the presence of a metallic catalyst; and-   (B) up to about 10 weight percent, preferably about 5 to 10 weight    percent based on the total weight of the polyester of at least one    salt prepared by the reaction of one or more acidic    phosphorus-containing compounds and one or more basic organic    compounds which contain nitrogen.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a polymer composition comprising:

-   (A) at least one polyester prepared by the reaction of at least one    diol with at least one dicarboxylic acid or dialkyl ester thereof in    the presence of a metallic catalyst; and-   (B) a salt prepared by the reaction of one or more acidic    phosphorus-containing compounds with one or more basic organic    compounds preferably containing nitrogen, wherein the    phosphorus-containing compounds are selected from compounds having    the formula:    wherein    -   R₁ and R₂ are independently selected from hydrogen,        C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl,        substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl;    -   n is 2 to 500; and    -   X is selected from hydrogen and hydroxy;        and wherein the basic organic compounds are selected from        compounds having the formulas:        wherein    -   R₁ and R₂ are independently selected from hydrogen,        C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl,        substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl;    -   R₃, R₄, and R₅ are independently selected from hydrogen,        C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, and        substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl wherein at least one of R₃, R₄, and        R₅ is a substituent other than hydrogen; R₃ and R₄ or R₄ and R₅        collectively may represent a divalent group forming a ring with        the nitrogen atom to which they are attached, e.g., morpholino,        piperidino and the like;    -   R₆, R₇, R₈, and R₉ are independently selected from hydrogen,        C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl,        substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, aryl;    -   R₁₀ is selected from hydrogen, —OR₆, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted        C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl;    -   R₁₁ is selected from hydrogen; C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted        C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl,        heteroaryl, aryl, —Y₁—R₃ or a succinimido group having the        formula    -   R₁₂ is selected from hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted        C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl,        heteroaryl, aryl and may be located at the 2, 3 or 4 positions        on the aromatic ring;    -   the —N(R₃)(R₄) group may be located at the 2, 3 or 4 positions        on the pyridine ring of nitrogen compound (5);    -   the —CO₂R₃ and R₁ groups may be located at any of the 2, 3, 4,        5, 6 positions of the pyridine ring of nitrogen compound (6);    -   L₁ is a divalent linking group selected from C₂-C₂₂-alkylene;        —(CH₂CH₂—Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂—; C₃-C₈-cycloalkylene; arylene; or        —CO-L₂-OC—;    -   L₂, L₂′ and L₂″ are independently selected from C₁-C₂₂-alkylene,        arylene, —(CH₂CH₂—Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂— and C₃-C₈-cycloalkylene;    -   Y₁ is selected from —OC(O)—, —NHC(O)—, —O—, —S—, —N(R₁)—;    -   Y₂ is selected from —O— or —N(R₁)—;    -   R₁₃ and R₁₄ are independently selected from —O—R₂, and —N(R₂)₂;    -   Z is a positive integer of up to about 20, preferably up to        about 6;    -   m1 is selected from 0 to about 10;    -   n1 is a positive integer selected from 2 to about 12;    -   R₁₅, R₁₅′, R₁₆ are R₁₆′ are independently selected from        hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,        C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl,        aryl, and radical A wherein radical A is selected from the        following structures:    -   Radical A structures wherein * designates the position of        attachment;        preferably at least one of R₁₅, R_(15′), R₁₆, and R_(16′) is an        A radical; and wherein the ratio of the number of phosphorus        atoms in the acidic phosphorus-containing compound to the number        of basic nitrogen atoms in the basic organic compound is about        0.05 to about 2, preferably from about 0.25 to about 1.1.

The term “C₁-C₂₂-alkyl” denotes a saturated hydrocarbon radical whichcontains one to twenty-two carbons and which may be straight orbranched-chain. Such C₁-C₂₂ alkyl groups can be methyl, ethyl, propyl,butyl, pentyl, hexyl, heptyl, octyl, isopropyl, isobutyl, tertbutyl,neopentyl, 2-ethylheptyl, 2-ethylhexyl, and the like. The term“substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl” refers to C₁-C₂₂-alkyl radicals as describedabove which may be substituted with one or more substituents selectedfrom hydroxy, halogen, cyano, aryl, heteroaryl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl,substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, C₁-C₆-alkoxy, C₂-C₆ alkanoyloxy and thelike.

The term “C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl” is used to denote a cycloaliphatichydrocarbon radical containing three to eight carbon atoms. The term“substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl” is used to describe a C₃-C₈-cycloalkylradical as detailed above containing at least one group selected fromC₁-C₆-alkyl, C₁-C₆-alkoxy, hydroxy, halogen, and the like.

The term “aryl” is used to denote an aromatic radical containing 6, 10or 14 carbon atoms in the conjugated aromatic ring structure and theseradicals substituted with one or more groups selected from C₁-C₆-alkyl;C₁-C₆-alkoxy; phenyl, and phenyl substituted with C₁-C₆-alkyl;C₁-C₆-alkoxy; halogen and the like; C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl; halogen; hydroxy,cyano, trifluoromethyl and the like. Typical aryl groups include phenyl,naphthyl, phenylnaphthyl, anthryl (anthracenyl) and the like. The term“heteroaryl” is used to describe conjugated cyclic radicals containingat least one hetero atom selected from sulfur, oxygen, nitrogen or acombination of these in combination with from two to about ten carbonatoms and these heteroaryl radicals substituted with the groupsmentioned above as possible substituents on the aryl radical. Typicalheteroaryl radicals include: 2- and 3-furyl, 2- and 3-thienyl, 2- and3-pyrrolyl, 2-, 3-, and 4-pyridyl, benzothiophen-2-yl;benzothiazol-2-yl, benzoxazol-2-yl, benzimidazol-2-yl,1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl, 1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl, 1,2,4-thiadiazol-5-yl,isothiazol-5-yl, imidazol-2-yl, quinolyl and the like.

The terms “C₁-C₆-alkoxy” and “C₂-C₆-alkanoyloxy” are used to representthe groups —O—C₁-C₆-alkyl and —OCOC₁-C₆-alkyl, respectively, wherein“C₁-C₆-alkyl” denotes a saturated hydrocarbon that contains 1-6 carbonatoms, which may be straight or branched-chain, and which may be furthersubstituted with one or more groups selected from halogen, methoxy,ethoxy, phenyl, hydroxy, acetyloxy and propionyloxy. The term “halogen”is used to represent fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine; however,chlorine and bromine are preferred.

The term “C₂-C₂₂-alkylene” is used to denote a divalent hydrocarbonradical that contains from two to twenty-two carbons and which may bestraight or branched chain and which may be substituted with one or moresubstituents selected from hydroxy, halogen, C₁-C₆-alkoxy,C₂-C₆-alkanolyloxy and aryl. The term “C₃-C₈-cycloalkylene” is used todenote divalent cycloaliphatic radicals containing three to eight carbonatoms and these are optionally substituted with one or more C₁-C₆-alkylgroups. The term “arylene” is used to denote 1,2-, 1,3-, and1,4-phenylene radicals and these optionally substituted withC₁-C₆-alkyl, C₁-C₆-alkoxy and halogen.

The salt of component (B) of the novel compositions provided by thepresent invention may be prepared by bringing together the acidicphosphorus-containing compound and the basic nitrogen-containing organiccompound in a suitable manner. A suitable manner is any procedure thatinvolves contacting the acidic phosphorus-containing acid with the basicorganic compound. For example, the acidic phosphorus-containing compoundand the basic nitrogen-containing organic compound may be dissolved inan appropriate solvents and the solutions mixed followed byprecipitation of the reaction product; mixing the phosphorus-containingacid and the basic organic compound without solvent; and the like.

The ratio of the number of phosphorus atoms in the acidicphosphorus-containing compound to the number of basic nitrogen atoms inthe basic organic compound may be in the range of about 0.05 to about 2,preferably from about 0.25 to about 1.1. Compositions that contain alarge excess of unreacted phosphorus-containing acidic compounds mayresult in corrosion of process equipment during concentrate manufactureand have a negative effect on the hydrolytic stability of the polymer.

The salt or salts constituting component (B) of our novel compositionstypically is present in concentrations ranging from about 0.01 to about0.25 weight percent based on the total weight of the composition, i.e.,the total weight of the component (A) polyester, the salt and anyadditional components present such as a polycarbonate, stabilizers andpigments and colorants. Concentrations of salt (B) within this rangetypically are effective to improve the color of polyesters andpolyester-polycarbonate compositions. Additionally, the color ofpolyesters that contain UV absorbers and or phenolic antioxidants andpolyester-polycarbonate compositions that contain UV absorbers and orphenolic antioxidants is improved. The concentration of the salt(s)preferably is about 0.05 to 0.15 weight percent (same basis). Thepolyester of component (A) typically contains catalyst metal residues inconcentrations of less than about 200 parts per million be weight(ppmw), e.g., about 10 to 200 ppmw. Metal catalyst residuesconcentrations of about 20 to 100 ppmw are more typical. Corrosion ofmetal process equipment is an additional source of metal contaminants inpolyester component (A). For example, 304 and 316 stainless steelscontain manganese, chromium and nickel.

The acidic phosphorus-containing compounds preferably are phosphorousacid, phosphoric acid and polyphosphoric acid, most preferablyphosphorous acid.

Examples of suitable basic organic compounds include alkyl amines suchas triethylamine and 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine, pyridine andsubstituted pyridines, piperidine and substituted piperidines,morpholine and substituted morpholines and the like. The preferred basicorganic compounds are hindered amine light stabilizers (HALS) such as:Cyasorb UV-3346 (Cytec Industries, CAS# 90751-07-8), Cyasorb UV-3529(Cytec Industries, CAS# 19309840-7), Cyasorb UV-3641 (Cytec Industries,CAS# 106917-30-0), Cyasorb UV-3581 (Cytec Industries, CAS# 79720-19-7),Cyasorb UV-3853 (Cytec Industries, CAS# 167078-06-0), Cyasorb UV-3853S(Cytec Industries, CAS# 24860-22-8), Tinuvin 622 (Ciba SpecialtyChemicals, CAS# 65447-77-0), Tinuvin 770 (Ciba Specialty Chemicals, CAS#52829-07-9), Tinuvin 144 (Ciba Specialty Chemicals, CAS# 63843-89-0),Tinuvin 123 (Ciba Specialty Chemicals, CAS# 129757-67-1), Chimassorb 944(Ciba Specialty Chemicals, CAS# 71878-19-8), Chimassorb 119 (CibaSpecialty Chemicals, CAS# 10699043-6), Chimassorb 2020 (Ciba SpecialtyChemicals, CAS# 192268-64-7), Lowilite 76 (Great Lakes Chemical Corp.,CAS# 41556-26-7), Lowilite 62 (Great Lakes Chemical Corp., CAS#65447-77-0), Lowilite 94 (Great Lakes Chemical Corp., CAS# 71878-19-8),Uvasil 299LM (Great Lakes Chemical Corp., CAS# 182635-99-0), and Uvasil299HM (Great Lakes Chemical Corp., CAS# 182635-99-0), Dastib 1082 (Vochta.s., CAS# 131290-28-3), Uvinul 4049H (BASF Corp., CAS# 109423-00-9),Uvinul 4050H (BASF Corp., CAS# 124172-53-8), Uvinul 5050H (BASF Corp.,CAS# 199237-39-3), Mark LA 57 (Asahi Denka Co., Ltd., CAS# 64022-61-3),Mark LA 52 (Asahi Denka Co., Ltd., CAS# 91788-83-9), Mark LA 62 (AsahiDenka Co., Ltd., CAS# 107119-91-5), Mark LA 67 (Asahi Denka Co., Ltd.,CAS# 100631434), Mark LA 63 (Asahi Denka Co., Ltd. Co., Ltd. Co., CAS#115055-30-6), Mark LA 68 (Asahi Denka Co., Ltd., CAS# 10063144-5),Hostavin N 20 (Clariant Corp., CAS# 9507842-5), Hostavin N 24 (ClariantCorp., CAS# 85099-51-1, CAS# 85099-50-9), Hostavin N 30 (Clariant Corp.,CAS# 78276-66-1), Diacetam-5 (GTPZAB Gigiena Truda, USSR, CAS#76505-58-3), Uvasorb-HA 88 (3V Sigma, CAS# 136504-96-6), GoodriteUV-3034 (BF Goodrich Chemical Co., CAS# 71029-16-8), Goodrite UV-3150(BF Goodrich Chemical Co., CAS# 96204-36-3), Goodrite UV-3159 (BFGoodrich Chemical Co., CAS# 13027745-1), Sanduvor 3050 (Clariant Corp.,CAS# 85099-51-0), Sanduvor PR-31 (Clariant Corp., CAS# 147783-69-5), UVCheck AM806 (Ferro Corp., CAS# 154636-12-1), Sumisorb TM-061 (SumitomoChemical Company, CAS# 84214-94-8), Sumisorb LS-060 (Sumitomo ChemicalCompany, CAS# 99473-08-2), Uvasil 299 LM (Great Lakes Chemical Corp.,CAS# 164648-93-5), Uvasil 299 HM (Great Lakes Chemical Corp., CAS#164648-93-5), Nylostab S-EED (Clariant Corp., CAS# 42774-15-2).Additional preferred hindered amine light stabilizer may be listed inthe Plastic Additives Handbook 5^(th) Edition (Hanser GardnerPublications, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 2001).

The hindered amine light stabilizers having above formulas (2), (3),(7), (8), (9), (12), (13), (14), (15), (16), (17), (18), (19), (20) and(21) represent the preferred basic compounds. Chimassorb 944 (CibaSpecialty Chemicals, CAS# 71878-19-8), Cyasorb UV-3529 (CytecIndustries, CAS# 19309840-7), Chimassorb 119 (Ciba Specialty Chemicals,CAS# 10699043-6) and Tinuvin 770 (Ciba Specialty Chemicals, CAS#52829-07-9) and any equivalents thereof are specific examples of thepreferred basic compounds. A more preferred groups of the basic nitrogencompounds are the hindered amine light stabilizers having above formulas(2), (3), (7), (8), (9), (12), (13), (14), (15), (16), (17), (18) and(19) wherein radical R10 is hydrogen or C1-C22 alkyl and formula (15)wherein at least one of R15 and R16 represents radical A wherein R10 ishydrogen or C1-C22 alkyl. The most preferred are high molecular weightHALS wherein the molecular weight is greater than about 1000 such asCyasorb UV-3529 (Cytec Industries, CAS# 19309840-7). The most preferredHALS correspond to formula (12) set forth above whereinR6=R7=R8=R9=R10=methyl, (R3)(R4)N— collectively represent morpholino, L1is C1 to C6 alkylene, and Z is 1 to 6. Additionally, the hindered aminelight stabilizers having above formulas (12), (13), (14), (15), (16),(17), (18) and (19) wherein radical R10 is hydrogen or C1-C22 alkyl andformula (15) wherein at least one of R15 and R16 represents radical Awherein R10 is hydrogen or C1-C22 alkyl are particularly preferred forimproved hydrolytic stability of polyester, polycarbonate andpolyester-polycarbonate composition. Chimassorb 119® is anotherpreferred HALS embodiment. The structure of Chimassorb 119® haspreviously been disclosed also in the Journal of Materials Science 36(2001) 4419-4431, incorporated herein by reference. The chemical namefor Chimassorb 119® as disclosed in the Journal of Materials Science 36(2001) at 4419-4431 is 1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triamine,N,N′-1,2-ethane-diyl-bis[[[4,6-bis-[butyl-1,2,2,6,6,-pentamethyl-4-piperidinyl)amino]-1,3,5-triazine-2-yl]amino]-3,1-propanediyl]]bis[N,N″-dibutylN,N″bis-(1,2,2,6,6,-pentamethyl-4-piperidinyl)-.

The polyester of component (A) includes linear, thermoplastic,crystalline or amorphous polyesters produced by conventionalpolymerization techniques from one or more diols and one or moredicarboxylic acids or ester-forming equivalent thereof such as adicarboxylate ester. The polyesters normally are molding or fiber gradeand have an inherent viscosity (I.V.) of about 0.4 to about 1.2 dL/gmeasured at 25° C. in a 60/40 ratio by weight ofphenol/tetrachloroethane. Typical polyesters of component (A) comprise:

-   (1) diacid residues comprising at least 50 mole percent terephthalic    acid residues, 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid residues or a    mixture thereof; and-   (2) diol residues comprising at least 50 mole percent of ethylene    glycol residues, cyclohexanedimethanol residues, or a mixture    thereof;    wherein the total of the diacid residues is equal to 100 mole    percent and the total of the diol residues also is equal to 100 mole    percent. The polyesters of component (A) typically contain up to    about 200 ppmw of metal impurity, e.g., 10 to 200 ppmw Ti, Co and/or    Mn residues.

The diol residues of the component (A) polyesters may be derived fromone or more of the following diols: 2,6-decahydronaphthalenedimethanol,ethylene glycol, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, 1,2-propanediol,1,3-propanediol, 1,4-butanediol, 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-propanediol,1,6-hexanediol, 1,2-cyclohexanediol, 1,4-cyclohexanediol, 1,2-, 1,3- and1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-1,3-cyclobutanediol,bis[4-(2-hydroxyethoxy)phenyl] sulfone, 1,4:3,6-dianhydro-sorbitol,4,4′-isopropylidenedicyclohexanol,Z-8-bis(hydroxymethyl)-tricyclo-[5.2.1.0]-decane wherein Z represents 3,4, or 5; and diols containing one or more oxygen atoms in the chain,e.g., diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol,tripropylene glycol and the like. In general, these diols contain 2 to18, preferably 2 to 8 carbon atoms. Cycloaliphatic diols can be employedin their cis or trans configuration or as mixtures of both forms.

The diacid residues of the component (A) polyesters may be derived froma variety of aliphatic, alicyclic, and aromatic dicarboxylic acids.Examples of the dicarboxylic acids from which the diacid residues may beobtained include 2,6-decahydronaphthalenedicarboxylic acid, terephthalicacid, isophthalic acid, 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid,1,3-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid, succinic acid, glutaric acid, adipicacid, sebacic acid, 1,12-dodecanedioic acid, 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylicacid and the like. The diacid residues may be obtained from thedicarboxylic acid or ester forming derivatives thereof such as esters ofthe dicarboxylic acid, e.g., dimethyl dicarboxylate esters, acid halidesand, in some cases, anhydrides.

One or more branching agents also may be useful in making the polyestersformed within the context of the invention. Although not required, it ispreferred that the optional branching agent is present in polyestercomponent (A) in an amount of less than 5 mole percent wherein the totalmole percent of the dicarboxylic acid component equals 100 mole percentand the total mole percent of the diol component equals 100 molepercent. The branching agent may provide branching in the acid unitportion of the polyester, or in the glycol unit portion, or it can be ahybrid. Some of these branching agents have already been describedherein. However, illustrative of such branching agents arepolyfunctional acids, polyfunctional glycols and acid/glycol hybrids.Examples include tri- or tetra-carboxylic acids, such as trimesic acid,pyromellitic acid and lower alkyl esters thereof and the like, andtetrols such as pentaerythritol. Also triols such as trimethylopropaneor dihydroxy carboxylic acids and hydroxydicarboxylic acids andderivatives, such as dimethyl hydroxy terephthalate, and the like areuseful within the context of this invention. Trimellitic anhydride is apreferred branching agent. The branching agents may be used either tobranch the polyester itself or to branch the polyester/polycarbonateblend of the invention.

It is preferred that polyester component (A) comprise about 30 to 100mole percent 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol residues wherein the total molepercentages of diol residues of the polyester equals 100 mole percent.In this embodiment, it is also preferred that polyester component (A)comprises 0 to about 70 mole percent ethylene glycol residues. While thediacid residues present in this embodiment may be derived from anydiacid, it is preferred that the diacid residues comprise terephthalicacid, isophthalic acid and/or 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid residues.When terephthalic acid residues are present, polyester component (A)comprises about 65 to 100 mole percent terephthalic acid residues andabout 0 to 35 mole percent isophthalic acid residues.

Thus, one group of preferred polyesters have an inherent viscosity ofabout 0.4 to 1.2, preferably 0.4 to 0.8, dL/g measured at 25° C. in a60/40 ratio by weight of phenol/tetrachloroethane and comprise:

-   (1) diacid residues comprising about 80 to 100 mole percent    terephthalic acid residues and about 0 to 20 mole percent    isophthalic acid residues; and-   (2) diol residues comprising about 40 to 100 mole percent,    preferably 55 to 80 mole percent, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol residues    and 0 to about 60 mole percent, preferably about 20 to 45 mole    percent, ethylene glycol residues;    wherein the total of the diacid residues is equal to 100 mole    percent and the total of the diol residues also is equal to 100 mole    percent.

Another group of preferred polyesters have an inherent viscosity ofabout 0.4 to 1.2, preferably about 0.4 to 0.8, dL/g measured at 25° C.in a 60/40 ratio by weight of phenol/tetrachloroethane and comprise:

-   (1) diacid residues comprising about 65 to 82 mole percent,    preferably about 70 to 80 mole percent, terephthalic acid residues    and about 35 to 18 mole percent, preferably 30 to 20 mole percent,    isophthalic acid residues; and-   (2) diol residues comprising about 80 to 100 mole percent,    preferably 90 to 100 mole percent, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol    residues and about 0 to about 20 mole percent, preferably 0 to 10    mole percent, ethylene glycol residues;    wherein the total of the diacid residues is equal to 100 mole    percent and the total of the diol residues also is equal to 100 mole    percent.

Yet another group of preferred polyesters have an inherent viscosity ofabout 0.4 to 1.2, preferably about 0.4 to 0.8, dL/g measured at 25° C.in a 60/40 ratio by weight of phenol/tetrachloroethane and comprise:

-   (1) diacid residues comprising at least about 80 to 100 mole    percent, preferably 90 to 100 mole percent, and more preferably 100    mole percent 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid residues; and-   (2) diol residues comprising about 80 to 100 mole percent,    preferably 90 to 100 mole percent, most preferably 100 mole percent,    1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol residues and about 0 to about 20 mole    percent, preferably 0 to 10 mole percent, most preferably 0 ethylene    glycol residues;    wherein the total of the diacid residues is equal to 100 mole    percent and the total of the diol residues also is equal to 100 mole    percent.

In yet another preferred embodiment, the polyesters have an inherentviscosity of about 0.4 to 1.2, preferably about 0.4 to 0.8, dL/gmeasured at 25° C. in a 60/40 ratio by weight ofphenol/tetrachloroethane and comprise:

-   (1) diacid residues comprising about 80 to 100 mole percent, more    preferably 90 to 100 mole percent terepthalic acid residues and    about 0 to 20 mole percent, more preferably 0 to 10 mole percent    isophthalic acid residues; and-   (2) diol residues comprising about 25 to 37 mole percent, preferably    28 to 34 mole percent, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol residues and about    75 to about 63 mole percent, preferably about 72 to 66 mole percent,    ethylene glycol residues;    wherein the total of the diacid residues is equal to 100 mole    percent and the total of the diol residues also is equal to 100 mole    percent.

Even further, another group of preferred polyesters have an inherentviscosity of about 0.4 to 1.2, preferably about 0.5 to 1.0 dL/g measuredat 25° C. in a 60/40 ratio by weight of phenol/tetrachloroethane andcomprise:

-   (1) diacid residues comprising terephthalic acid residues from 0.01    to 100 mole percent, preferably at least 40 mole percent; more    preferably, 80 to 100 mole percent, and even more preferably from 90    to 100 mole percent, and-   (2) diol residues comprising about 52 to 75 mole percent, preferably    52 to 65 mole percent of, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol residues and    about 25 to 48 mole percent, preferably 35 to 48 mole percent of    ethylene glycol residues;    wherein the total of the diacid residues is equal to 100 mole    percent and the total of the diol residues also is equal to 100 mole    percent. Branching agents are preferred in this embodiment more    preferably in the amount of 0.05 to 1.0 mole percent of a    trifunctional monomer.

The linear polyesters may be prepared according to polyester-formingprocedures and conditions well known in the art. For example, a mixtureof one or more dicarboxylic acids, preferably aromatic dicarboxylicacids, or ester forming derivatives thereof, and one or more diols maybe heated in the presence of an esterification catalyst and/orpolyesterification catalysts at temperatures in the range of about 150to about 300° C. and pressures in the range of from of atmospheric toabout 0.2 Torr. Normally, the dicarboxylic acid or derivative thereof isesterified or transesterified with the diol(s) at atmospheric pressureand at a temperature at the lower end of the specified range.Polycondensation then is affected by increasing the temperature andlowering the pressure while excess diol is removed from the mixture. Apreferred temperature range for a polyester condensation is about 260 toabout 300° C.

Typical catalyst or catalyst systems for polyester condensation are wellknown in the art. For example, the catalysts disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.4,025,492; 4,136,089; 4,176,224; 4,238,593; and 4,208,527, incorporatedherein by reference, are deemed suitable in this regard. Further, R. E.Wilfong, Journal of Polymer Science, 54 385 (1961) sets forth typicalcatalysts which are useful in polyester condensation reactions. The mostpreferred catalysts are complexes of titanium, manganese and cobalt. Itis understood that phosphorus-containing compounds can be added inaddition to metal catalysts. Polymer compositions that employ antimonyor its metal complexes as a catalyst may become unsuitably darkened byadding a phosphorus-containing molecule, such as phosphorous acid orsalts of phosphorous acid, e.g., the salts of component (B) of thepresent invention, during melt blending and extruding.

A second embodiment of the present invention is a polymer compositioncomprising:

-   (A) at least one polyester prepared by the reaction of at least one    diol with at least one dicarboxylic acid or dialkyl ester thereof in    the presence of a metallic catalyst;-   (B) at least one salt prepared from the reaction of one or more    acidic phosphorus-containing compounds and one or more basic organic    compounds which contain nitrogen; and-   (C) at least one polycarbonate.    Components (A) and (B) of this embodiment, including the relative    amounts thereof, are the same as are described above.

The term “polycarbonate” as used herein embraces those polycarbonatescomprising repeating units or residues of the formula

wherein Y is a divalent aromatic or aliphatic radical derived from adihydroxyaromatic compound or a dihydroxyaliphatic compound of theformula HO—Y—OH. Typical dihydroxyaromatic compounds are2,2-bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane, also known as bisphenol A;bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)methane; 2,2-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methylphenyl)propane;4,4-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)heptane;2,2-(3,5,3′,5′-tetrachloro-4,4′-dihydroxyphenyl)propane;2,2-(3,5,3′,5′-tetrabromo-4,4′-dihydroxyphenol)propane;3,3′-dichloro-3,3′-dichloro-4,4′-dihydroxydiphenyl)methane;2,2′-dihydroxyphenylsulfone, and 2,2′-dihydroxylphenylsulfide. Mostpreferably, HO—Y—OH is 2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)propyl, in which case,the polycarbonate is a “bisphenol A polycarbonate”. Examples ofdihydroxyaliphatic compounds include 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol,1,2-propanediol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,4-butanediol,2,2-dimethyl-1,3-propanediol, 1,6-hexanediol,2,6-decahydronaphthalenedimethanol, 1,2-cyclohexanediol,1,4-cyclohexanediol, 1,2-cyclohexanedimethanol,1,3-cyclohexanedimethanol, isosorbide,4,4′-isopropylidenedicyclohexanol,2,2,4,4-tetramethylcyclobutane-1,2-diol,Z,8-bis(hydroxymethyl)-tricyclo-[5.2.1.0]-decane wherein Z represents 3,4, or 5; and diols containing one or more oxygen atoms in the chain,e.g., diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol,tripropylene glycol and the like. In general, these diols contain 2 to18, preferably 2 to 8 carbon atoms. Cycloaliphatic diols can be employedin their cis or trans configuration or as mixtures of both forms.Branched polycrbonates are also useful in the present invention.

The polycarbonates comprising component (C) of the above-describedembodiment of the present invention may be prepared according to knownprocedures by reacting the dihydroxyaromatic compound with a carbonateprecursor such as phosgene, a haloformate or a carbonate ester, amolecular weight regulator, an acid acceptor and a catalyst. Methods forpreparing polycarbonates are known in the art and are described, forexample, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,933, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein.

Examples of suitable carbonate precursors include carbonyl bromide,carbonyl chloride, and mixtures thereof; diphenyl carbonate; adi(halophenyl)carbonate, e.g., di(trichlorophenyl) carbonate,di(tribromophenyl) carbonate, and the like; di(alkylphenyl)carbonate,e.g., di(tolyl)carbonate; di(naphthyl)carbonate;di(chloronaphthyl)carbonate, or mixtures thereof; and bis-haloformatesof dihydric phenols.

Examples of suitable molecular weight regulators include phenol,cyclohexanol, methanol, alkylated phenols, such as octylphenol,para-tertiary-butylphenol, and the like. The preferred molecular weightregulator is phenol or an alkylated phenol.

The acid acceptor may be either an organic or an inorganic acidacceptor. A suitable organic acid acceptor is a tertiary amine andincludes such materials as pyridine, triethylamine, dimethylaniline,tributylamine, and the like. The inorganic acid acceptor can be either ahydroxide, a carbonate, a bicarbonate, or a phosphate of an alkali oralkaline earth metal.

The catalysts that can be used are those that typically aid thepolymerization of the monomer with phosgene. Suitable catalysts includetertiary amines such as triethylamine, tripropylamine,N,N-dimethylaniline, quanternary ammonium compounds such as, forexample, tetraethylammonium bromide, cetyl triethyl ammonium bromide,tetra-n-heptylammonium iodide, tetra-n-propyl ammonium bromide,tetramethyl ammonium chloride, tetra-methyl ammonium hydroxide,tetra-n-butyl ammonium iodide, benzyltrimethyl ammonium chloride andquaternary phosphonium compounds such as, for example, n-butyltriphenylphosphonium bromide and methyltriphenyl phosphonium bromide.

The polycarbonate of component (C) also may be a copolyestercarbonatesuch as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,169,121; 3,207,814;4,194,038; 4,156,069; 4,430,484, 4,465,820, and 4,981,898, all of whichare incorporated by reference herein.

Copolyestercarbonates useful in this invention are availablecommercially. They are typically obtained by the reaction of at leastone dihydroxyaromatic compound with a mixture of phosgene and at leastone dicarboxylic acid chloride, especially isophthaloyl chloride,terephthaloyl chloride, or both.

The ratio of polyester component (A) to polycarbonate component (C) isnot a critical feature of the present invention, and may be determinedby the individual practitioner of this invention. Typically, the weightratio of polyester (A) to polycarbonate (B) will range from about 99:1to about 1:99, preferably from about 75:25 to about 25:75, and mostpreferably is about 75:25 to about 50:50.

The present invention provides polyesters and blends of polyesters andpolycarbonates that exhibit improved color. Although not being bound byany particular theory, the improvement in color may be the result ofdeactivating the metal catalyst residues within the polyester. It isbelieved that metal catalyst residues, e.g., Ti, Mn and Co residues, mayform colored complexes with phenolic moieties such as those found withinpolycarbonates, within the structure of many ultraviolet light absorbersand all phenolic antioxidants. The acidic phosphorus-containing compoundsalts of suitable basic organic compounds [Component (B)] may deactivatemetal catalyst residues thereby preventing the formation of coloredmetal-phenol complexes and inhibiting transesterification between thepolyester and polycarbonate.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a polymer concentratecomprising:

-   (A) at least one polyester prepared by the reaction of at least one    diol with at least one dicarboxylic acid or dialkyl ester thereof in    the presence of a metallic catalyst; and-   (B) up to about 10 weight percent, preferably about 5 to 10 weight    percent, based on the total weight of the polyester of at least one    salt prepared by the reaction of one or more acidic    phosphorus-containing compounds and one or more basic organic    compounds which contain nitrogen.

The compositions of the present invention also may contain one or morecompounds selected from the group consisting of (D) phenolicantioxidants, (E) water, (F) colorants and pigments such as organiccolorants, inorganic colorants and or white pigments such as TiO₂, ZnOand baryta, (G) other additives such as impact modifiers, plasticizers,halogenated flame-retardants, fillers, nonhalogenated flame-retardants,synergists, processing aids, phosphite stabilizers, phosphonitestabilizers and other stabilizers known to one skilled in the art; and(I) a recycled polymer.

The terms “phenolic antioxidants” and “hindered phenol” are primaryantioxidants that are known to those skilled in the art and may berepresented by the structures listed on pages 98-108 in the PlasticAdditives Handbook 5^(th) Edition (Hanser Gardner Publications, Inc.,Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 2001), incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. Some common phenolic antioxidants are as follows: Irganox 1010(Ciba Specialty Chemicals, CAS# 6683-19-8), Irganox 1330 (Ciba SpecialtyChemicals, CAS# 1709-70-2) and Irganox 3114 (Ciba Specialty Chemicals,CAS# 27676-62-6).

The terms “phosphite stabilizers” and “phosphonite stabilizers” refer tosecondary antioxidants that are known to those skilled in the art andmay be represented by the structures listed on pages 109-112 in thePlastic Additives Handbook 5^(th) Edition (Hanser Gardner Publications,Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 2001), incorporated herein by reference inits entirety. Some common phosphite stabilizers are as follows: Ultranox626 (GE Specialty Chemicals, CAS# 26741-53-7), Irgafos 168 (CibaSpecialty Chemicals, CAS# 31570-044), Weston 619 (GE SpecialtyChemicals, CAS# 3806-34-6) and Doverphos S-9228 (Dover Chemicals, CAS#15486243-8).

The term “halogenated flame-retardants” is defined as compounds that cancontain one or more of the following: fluorine, chlorine, bromine, andiodine, which act in such a way as to decrease the flammability of thepolymer composition. More preferred are compounds that contain brominesuch as brominated polycarbonate, brominated polystyrene, and the like.

The salts of the phosphorus-containing acids and suitable basic organiccompounds are believed to substantially deactivate the metallic catalystresidues present in polyester component (A) so that the residues losetheir ability to form colored complexes with UV absorbers. Salts ofphosphorus-containing acids and basic organic compounds, as definedherein, may reduce the amount of corrosion to process equipment ascompared to some of the hydrolysis products of commercial phosphites,phosphorous acid, phosphoric acid, and polyphosphoric acid, therebyimproving the color of the polymer composition and improving thelifetime of the process equipment.

The compositions provided by the present invention are useful forimproving the properties of heavy-gauge sheet, cap layers for extrudedsheet, cap layers for extruded films, thermoformable sheeting products,injection molded products, thin films, thick films, articles made usingthin films, articles using from thick films, articles made using heavygauge sheet, multilayer films, twin-wall sheet, triple-wall sheet andthe like.

Sulfuric acid and sulfurous acid also will make salts with thenitrogen-containing compounds disclosed herein that are effective atimproving the color of polyester and polyester-polycarbonatecompositions that contain UV absorbers and/or phenolic antioxidants.Typically, the improvement in color is not as dramatic as that observedfor the salts made using phosphorus-containing acids such as phosphoricacid or phosphorous acid according to the present invention.

This invention is further illustrated by the following examples ofpreferred embodiments thereof, although it will be understood that theseexamples are included merely for purposes of illustration and are notintended to limit the scope of the invention unless otherwisespecifically indicated. Unless otherwise indicated, all weightpercentages are based on the total weight of the polymer composition andall molecular weights are weight average molecular weights. Also, allpercentages are by weight unless otherwise indicated. Wherever an Rgroup, L group, Y group, Z group, m group or n group is definedthroughout this entire description, the definition for a particulargroup remains the same throughout this description regardless of whetherit is used for multiple formulas or types of compounds unless otherwisespecified.

EXAMPLES

Experimental Conditions: All polyester-polycarbonate compositions weremade by extruding a 50/50 by weight blend of (1) a polyester comprisedof 74 mole percent terephthalic acid residues, 26 mole percentisophthalic acid residues and 100 mole percent 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanolresidues having an inherent viscosity of about 0.74 and containingapproximately 100 ppmw titanium metal, (2) a bisphenol A polycarbonatesupplied by Bayer as Makrolon 2608 polycarbonate and (3) the additivenoted using an 18 mm twin-screw extruder (APV Chemical Machinery Inc.,Saginaw, Mich. 48601) equipped with a medium mixing screw. All zonetemperatures were set to 275° C. except for Zone 1 that was set at 250°C. The inlet port was cooled by circulating water and the screw speedwas set to 200 revolution per minute (rpm). An Accu-Rate (ACCU-RATE Inc.Whitewater, Wis.) dry material feeder was used to feed the polymers andadditives into the extruder at a set addition rate of 3.0. The extrudedrods were cooled by passing through a 1.37 meter (4.5 feet) longice-water bath then chopped using a Berlyn pelletizer (The Berlyn Corp.,Worcester, Mass.) set at a speed of 5-8. All additives were mixed withthe polyester and polycarbonate by “bag blending” (shaking the materialstogether in a bag) unless otherwise stated. The polyester was dried forapproximately 24 hours in a vacuum oven (Model 5851, National ApplianceCompany, Portland, Oreg.) at 70° C. at 120 Torr pressure with a slightingress of dry nitrogen. The polycarbonate was dried for approximately24 hours in a vacuum oven (Model 5840, National Appliance Company,Portland, Oreg.) at 100° C. at 120 Torr with a slight ingress of drynitrogen. Concentrates were prepared from the blend of polymers and theadditives and then dried under the same conditions as the polyester wasdried. All of the polymers were stored in a vacuum oven under nitrogenuntil about 5 minutes prior to use, then “bag blended” and added to thefeeder. The first 5 minutes of extrudate was not collected in order toensure the extruder had been adequately purged. When multipleconcentrations of the same mixture of additives were extruded, the lowerconcentrations of additives always were extruded first. The extruder waspurged with at least 300 g of a 1:1 mixture of thepolyester/polycarbonate blend before the next additive was evaluated.When water was used as an additive, the water was added to the driedpolymer pellets, along with any other additive(s), about 3 hours priorto extruding.

The color of the polymer pellets is determined in a conventional mannerusing a HunterLab UltraScan Colorimeter manufactured by HunterAssociates Laboratory, Inc., Reston, Va. The instrument is operatedusing HunterLab Universal Software (version 3.8). Calibration andoperation of the instrument is according to the HunterLab User Manualand is largely directed by the Universal Software. To reproduce theresults on any colorimeter, run the instrument according to itsinstructions and use the following testing parameters: D65 Light Source(daylight, 6500° K color temperature), Reflectance Mode, Large AreaView, Specular Included, CIE 10° Observer, Outputs are CIE L*, a*, b*.The pellets are placed in a holder that is 25 mm deep by 55 mm wide andhigh. The holder is black with a window on one side. During testing, theclear side of the holder is held at the reflectance port of thecalorimeter as is normally done when testing in reflectance mode. Anincrease in the positive b* value indicates yellowness, while a decreasein the numerical value of b* indicates a reduction in yellowness. Colormeasurement and practice are discussed in greater detail in AnniBerger-Schunn in Practical Color Measurement, Wiley, NY pages 39-56 and91-98 (1994). Preferably, the b* value is less than +4, more preferablyfrom about +1 to about +2.

The molecular weight of the polyester and polycarbonate fractions, inthe polyester-polycarbonate compositions, was determined using gelpermeation chromatography. The sample was analyzed separately for eachcomponent of the blend. Each sample was prepared and analyzed once usingthe polyester method and then prepared and analyzed using thepolycarbonate method.

Polyester Method: Ten mg of sample was added to a 10 mL volumetric flaskfollowed by 20 microliters of toluene (as a flow marker) then diluted toa volume of 10 mL with an azeotrope of methylene chloride andhexafluoroisopropanol. A stir bar was added and the mixture was stirredon a stir plate until completely dissolved. The sample was analyzedusing a Perkin-Elmer series 200 LC binary pump at a flow rate of 1.0mL/minute, with a Perkin-Elmer ISS 200 Autosampler using a 10 microliterinjection loop. The detector was a Perkin-Elmer LC-95 UV/Vis detectorset at 285 nm. The columns are Plgel 5 micron guard and a Mixed C fromPolymer Laboratories. The polystyrene calibration consists of 15 narrowmolecular weight polystyrene standards from Polymer Laboratories rangingfrom 162 to 3,220,000. The universal calibration parameters were: PS,K=0.1278, a=0.7089; PCT K=0.2357, a=0.8405. The universal calibrationparameters were determined by linear regression to yield the correctweight average molecular weight for a set of five PCT samples previouslycharacterized by light scattering.

Polycarbonate Method: The sample was pressed until it turned white toincrease the surface area and then allowed to soak in tetrahydrofuran(THF) solvent to leach out the polycarbonate from the sample. Ten mg ofsample was added to a 10 mL volumetric flask followed by 20 microlitersof toluene (as a flow marker) then diluted to a volume of 10 mL withunstabilized THF. A stir bar was added and the mixture was stirred on astir plate overnight. The sample was analyzed using a Perkin-Elmer LC250 binary pump at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min., with a Perkin-Elmer LC600 Autosampler using a 20 microliter injection loop. The detector was aPerkin-Elmer LC-235 photodiode array detector set at 265 nm. The columnsare Plgel 5 micron guard, a Mixed C from Polymer Laboratories and anOligopore column from Polymer Laboratories. The polystyrene calibrationconsists of 15 narrow molecular weight polystyrene standards fromPolymer Laboratories ranging from 162 to 3,220,000. The universalcalibration parameters were: PS, K=14.000, a=0.7000; PC K=39.900,a=0.7000. The universal calibration parameters for polycarbonate in THFwere obtained from the literature.

Examples 1-12 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2

Chimassorb 944 hindered amine light stabilizer and phosphorous acid ofExamples 1-12 of Table I were ground together using a mortar and pestleuntil a fine powder was obtained. Varying amounts of the resultingamine-phoshporous acid salt were blended with the polymers consisting of350 g polyester and 350 g polycarbonate as described above. Chimassorb944 is believed to be a polymeric, hindered amine conforming generallyto amine formula (12) set forth above wherein R₆=R₇=R₈=R₉=methyl; R₁₀ ishydrogen; L₁ is hexamethylene; R₃ is hydrogen; and R₄ is a branchedoctyl group. Table I shows the b* value as measured on pellets extrudedfrom the 50/50 by weight blend of polyester and polycarbonate containingvarious concentrations of Chimassorb 944, phosphorous acid, and water.Salts made from Chimassorb 944 and phosphorous acid may have varyingratios of phosphorous acid to Chimassorb 944 to improve the catalystdeactivation ability and improve the color of polyester-polycarbonatecompositions. In Table I the amounts of Chimassorb 944 and phosphorousacid are given in grams and the amount of water is given in milligrams.TABLE I Chimassorb Phosphorus Polycarbonate Example 944 Acid Water b* MWC-1 0.7 — — 22.37 13,347 1 0.7 0.096 — 10.42 12,236 2 0.7 0.192 — 5.1119,026 3 0.7 0.288 — 3.69 21,648 4 0.7 0.383 — 3.29 19,747 C-2 3.5 — —22.43 16,643 5 3.5 0.479 — 3.62 15,776 6 3.5 0.958 — 3.39 15,623 7 3.51.438 — 3.0 15,800 8 3.5 1.916 — 2.96 16,611 9 0.7 0.096 21 5.24 21,87910  3.5 0.192 42 2.31 20,001 11  0.7 0.288 63 2.0 19,466 12  0.7 0.38384 1.87 19,795As is shown by the data in Table I, high concentrations of Chimassorb944 and phosphorous acid salt (Examples 5-8) significantly reduce the b*color but had a negative effect on the polycarbonate molecular weight(MW). Lesser amount of salt (Examples 1-4) allowed for an equivalentreduction in b* color without having a significant impact on thepolycarbonate molecular weight. The addition of a small amount of water(Examples 9-12) greatly reduced the b* color with only a slight negativeeffect on polycarbonate molecular weight relative to the examples withequivalents amount of salt. A salt comprising about 0.02 to 0.3 weightpercent phosphorous acid and 0.05 to about 0.5 weight percent Chimassorb944 provided a suitable reduction in the pellet b* color withoutsignificantly reducing the polycarbonate molecular weight. Addition oflow levels of water (Examples 9-12), from about 30 ppm to about 300 ppm,provided a further reduction in pellet b* color without having asignificant impact on the polycarbonate molecular weight. Maintenance ofthe polycarbonate molecular weight (Mw) demonstrates that catalystresidues have been sufficiently deactivated. Comparative Examples C-1and C-2 show that Chimassorb 944 is not effective for either reducingpellet b* value or deactivating catalyst residues, as can be seen by theloss of polycarbonate molecular weight (Mw) and large pellet b* colorvalues.

Examples 13-16 and Comparative Example 3

Chimassorb 944 hindered amine (7.0 g) and phosphorous acid (2.88 g) wereground together to give a fine powder and bag blended with 700 g ofpolyester and 700 g of polycarbonate. The mixture was melt processed togive a salt concentrate (Conc). Varying amounts of the salt concentratewere incorporated into a 50/50 weight percent blend of polyester andpolycarbonate. The blends evaluated and the results of the evaluationsare shown in Table II. In Comparative Example C-3 and Example 13 thepolymer blend consisted of 300 g of polyester and 300 g ofpolycarbonate; in Examples 14 and 15, the polymer blend consisted of 250g of polyester and 250 g of polycarbonate; and in Example 16 the polymerblend consisted of 250 g of polyester and 250 g of polycarbonate. InTable II, the amounts of concentrate (Conc) are given in grams and Saltvalues refer to the weight percent concentration of the salt in thepolymer blend (based on the total weight of the polymer composition)provided by the concentrate. TABLE II Salt Weight Polycarbonate ExampleConc percent b* MW C-3 — — 21.26 14,200 13 200 0.18 2.99 19,050 14 1000.12 2.41 20,860 15 50 0.064 2.94 21,660 16 50 0.44 5.15 21,943The data presented in Table II establish that the salt has a dramaticeffect on pellet b* color along with polycarbonate MW (ComparativeExample 3 vs Example 16). The data demonstrate that between 0.06 and0.18 weight percent salt can be used to effectively reduce pellet b*color. The data also show that between 0.06 and 0.18 weight percent saltprovides a good pellet b* value without significantly reducing themolecular weight of the polycarbonate.

Examples 17-25 and Comparative Example 4

Varying amounts of Tinuvin 770 hindered amine light stabilizer andphosphorus acid were ground together using a mortar and pestle toproduce a phosphorous acid salt of Tinuvin 770 hindered amine as a finewhite powder that was bag blended with polyester and polycarbonate.Tinuvin 770 is a hindered amine light stabilizer believed to conformgenerally to the compounds of amine formula (7) set forth above whereinR₆=R₇=R₈=R₉=methyl; R₁₀ is hydrogen; Y₂ is —OCO—; and L₁ isoctamethylene. The compositions were extruded and evaluated as describedabove. The results are shown in Table III. The polymer blend for theexamples of Table III consisted of 175 g polyester and 175 g ofpolycarbonate. The values given for Tinuvin 770 and phosphorous acid(Phos Acid) are concentrations in mg and (weight percent) in the polymerblend. TABLE III Polycarbonate Fraction Example Tinuvin 770 Phos Acid a*b* L* Mn Mw Mz C-4 350 (0.1) 8.44 20.83 58.52 6,367 17,968 30,477 17 175(0.05)  45 (0.013) −0.26 7.66 70.15 7,917 23,320 39,171 18 175 (0.05) 60 (0.017) −0.43 3.47 71.33 7,746 22,778 38,325 19 175 (0.05)  75(0.021) −0.23 4.56 71.24 7,378 22,638 38,624 20 175 (0.05) 140 (0.04)−0.28 3.22 71.12 7,149 21,325 36,239 21 350 (0.1)  30 (0.0085) −0.444.73 70.32 7,218 22,772 39,040 22 350 (0.1)  60 (0.017) −0.34 3.46 71.437,497 22,066 37,003 23 350 (0.1)  90 (0.026) −0.34 3.08 70.78 7,07521,252 36,169 24 350 (0.1) 119 (0.034) −0.34 3.26 71.26 6,932 20,28934,332 25 350 (0.1) 149 (0.043) −0.33 2.89 71.55 6,540 18,417 30,947

The data reported in Table III show that the phosphorous acid salts ofTinuvin 770 hindered amine were effective at suppressingtransesterification and improving the pellet b* color. The weightpercent phosphorous acid added was established by altering the moleratio of phosphorous acid to the number of nitrogen atoms in Tinuvin770. Data in Table III show a good balance of color of the compositionand maintenance of polycarbonate molecular weight (Mw) can be obtainedby using a 1:1 mole ratio of Tinuvin 770 and phosphorous acid using 0.1weight percent salt. At a concentration of 0.05 weight percent loading,the mole ratio of phosphorous acid to Tinuvin 770 can be increased to2.0. It is apparent from these data that the Tinuvin 770 salt is quiteeffective at improving the color of polyesters-polycarbonate blends. TheTinuvin 770 salt also is effective at reducing the amount oftransesterification that occurs between the polyester and polycarbonateduring melt processing.

Examples 26-45 and Comparative Examples 5-8

The procedure of Examples 17-25 was repeated using varying amounts ofLowilite 62, Lowilite 76 and Chimassorb 119 hindered amine lightstabilizer and phosphorous acid to produce a variety of phosphorous acidsalts of the hindered amines. Lowilite 62 is a hindered amine lightstabilizer believed to conform generally to the compounds of amineformula (20) set forth above wherein R₁ is hydrogen;R₂=R₆=R₇=R₈=R₉=methyl; L₂ is ethylene; and Y₁ is —OCO—. Lowilite 76 is ahindered amine light stabilizer believed to conform generally to thecompounds of amine formula (7) set forth above whereinR₆=R₇=R₈=R₉=R₁₀=methyl; Y₂ is —O—; and L₁ is —CO—(CH₂)₈—CO—. Thechemical name for Chimassorb 119® as disclosed in the Journal ofMaterials Science 36 (2001) at 4419-4431 is1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triamine,N,N′-1,2-ethane-diyl-bis[[[4,6-bis-[butyl-1,2,2,6,6,-pentamethyl-4-piperidinyl)amino]-1,3,5-triazine-2-yl]amino]-3,1-propanediyl]]bis[N,N″-dibutylN,N″bis-(1,2,2,6,6,-pentamethyl-4-piperidinyl)-. The compositions wereextruded and evaluated as described above. The results are shown inTable IV. The polymer blend for the examples of Table IV consisted of175 g polyester and 175 g of polycarbonate. The values given forLowilite 62; Lowilite 76, Chimassorb 119 (Chimab 119) and phosphorousacid (Phos Acid) are concentrations in mg in the polymer blend. TABLE IVLowilite Lowilite Chimab Phos Polycarbonate Fraction Example 62 76 119Acid a* b* L* Mn Mw Mz C-5 — — — — 6.26 19.75 60.74 5,768 17,005 29,492C-6 350 — — — 6.48 20.54 61.54 6,195 18,015 30,721 26 350 — — 51 0.068.87 69.23 7,167 22,634 38,663 27 350 — — 102 −0.05 5.84 70.27 7,46222,609 38,274 28 350 — — 153 0.32 6.32 69 7,409 21,541 36,178 C-7 — 350— — 8.31 21.44 60.34 6,502 18,645 31,740 29 — 175 — 42.5 0.3 7.15 69.887,234 22,607 38,592 30 — 175 — 56.5 −0.06 5.1 70.71 7,388 22,603 38,36331 — 175 — 71 −0.02 4.93 70.37 7071 22,912 35,437 32 — 175 — 140 0.125.24 70.25 6,694 19,111 32,319 33 — 350 — 28.3 −0.01 7.89 69.63 7,45422,895 38,772 34 — 350 — 56.5 0.12 6.07 69.77 7,334 21,700 36,799 35 —350 — 85 0.13 5.84 70.41 7,072 20,145 33,822 36 — 350 — 113 0.24 5.5769.88 6,522 19,541 33,648 37 — 350 — 142 0.32 5.69 69.67 6,127 17,05428,974 C-8 — — 350 — 4.23 19.94 62.91 6,551 18,841 32,028 38 — — 35037.5 −0.77 11.62 69.1 7,325 21,368 36,005 39 — — 350 50 −0.82 12.3868.97 7,337 21,113 35,575 40 — — 350 63 −1.09 9.83 69.76 7,148 20,70734,638 41 — — 350 75.5 −1.01 8.48 70.42 7,065 20,279 34,201 42 — — 35088 −0.87 8.19 70.21 6,867 19,861 33,502 43 — — 350 101 −0.74 7.74 70.117,009 19,824 33,507 44 — — 350 113 −0.73 6.99 70.29 6,799 19,249 32,55445 — — 350 140 −0.79 6.62 71.07 6,136 17,534 29,933

The data presented in Table IV show that the phosphorous acid salts ofhindered amine light stabilizers are effective at improving the pelletb* color of polyester-polycarbonate blends relative to blends that donot contain the stabilizer. In Examples 26-45, several phosphorous acidsalt compositions were evaluated at concentrations of 0.05 weightpercent and/or 0.1 weight percent. It is clear that the pellet b* coloris greatly affected by the salt composition that is selected and may beoptimized for each hindered amine light stabilizer or other basicorganic compound employed. In comparing the data of Table III with thedata of Table IV, it is clear that the phosphorous acid salts of Tinuvin770 are more effective at improving the pellet b* color. The phosphorousacid salts of Tinuvin 770, Lowilite 62, Lowilite 76 and Chimassorb 119did not create haze in any of the polyester-polycarbonate alloys thatwere evaluated.

Generally, the amount of salt required to achieve acceptable color andmolecular weight properties decreases as the ratio of the moles ofphosphorous acid to the moles of basic nitrogen atoms in the hinderedamine lights stabilizer approaches one. If more than one mole ofphosphorous acid per mole of basic nitrogen atoms in the basic organiccompound is used, some unsalted phosphorous acid will be present and maylead to corrosion of process equipment.

Example 46 and Comparative Example C-9 Preparation of Salt 1

To a clean, dry, 5-L, round-bottomed flask equipped with a mechanicalstir bar, thermocouple, and a heating mantle was added 411.76 g ofCyasorb UV-3529 and 945 g of toluene. Cyasorb UV-3529 is a polymerichindered amine light stabilizer believed to conform generally to thecompounds of amine formula (12) set forth above R₆=R₇=R₈=R₉=R₁₀=methyl;L₁ is hexamethylene; and (R₃)(R₄)N— collectively represent a morpholinogroup. The slurry was heated to 60° C. and stirred until a homogeneoussolution was obtained. Isopropyl alcohol (370 g) was added to thereaction vessel. A solution of 115.46 g (1.41 mol) of phosphorous aciddissolved into 370 g of isopropyl alcohol was added slowly overapproximately 1 hour. A homogeneous solution was obtained. The reactionmixture was pumped into an 18 L reaction vessel that contained rapidlystirred heptane (6840 g) over a period of approximately 1 hour. Theresulting slurry was stirred for 30 minutes. The precipitate wascollected by suction filtration. The filter cake was washed twice with137 g of heptane then sucked dry on the filter paper overnight. Thesolid was placed in a 30.5 cm×15.2×5.1 (12 inch×6 inch×2 inch) metal panand dried in a vacuum oven at 50-60° C. with a slight ingress of drynitrogen until a constant mass was obtained. The dry product (Salt 1)weighed approximately 525 g (100 percent of theory).

The salt of Cyasorb UV-3529 (0.5013, 0.1 weight percent) and phosphorousacid thus prepared was incorporated into a polymer blend consisting of249.5 g of each of polyester and polycarbonate. The polymer wasconverted to pellets as described above and and the pellets werecompared to pellets prepared from a polymer blend consisting of 250 g ofeach of polyester and polycarbonate but no salt, Cyasorb UV-3529 orphosphorous acid. The results of the evaluation are shown in Table V.TABLE V Example L* a* b* C-9 56.38 8.17 18.76 46 69.65 −0.35 3.12

Cyasorb UV-3529 is a polymeric hindered amine light stabilizer that mayexhibit superior performance than lower molecular weight hindered aminelight stabilizers, such as Tinuvin 770. The phosphorous acid salts ofCyasorb UV-3529 also exhibit very low haze in polyester-polycarbonatealloys. At 0.1 wt percent loading in a 50/50 weight percent blend ofpolyester and polycarbonate, the salt of Cyasorb UV-3529 provided apolymer alloy that had a pellet color that was as good as thephosphorous acid salts of Tinuvin 770 (Example 46 vs. Examples 17-25).

Examples 47-51 Preparation of Salts 2-6

A 50 percent phosphoric acid solution was prepared by adding 35.15 g of85 percent phosphoric acid to 24.87 g of deionized water. A sample ofChimassorb 944 was ground to a fine powder using a mortar and pestle.The ground Chimassorb 944 and 50 percent phosphoric acid solution weremixed using a spatula in the ratios listed in Table VI to prepare eachsalt. The salts were dried overnight in a vacuum oven at 70° C. at about15 Torr and a slight ingress of dry nitrogen for 24 hours. Each samplewas ground using a mortar and pestle and dried under the same conditionsas before for 48 hours. Each sample was ground to a fine, free flowingpowder using a mortar and pestle. TABLE VI 50 percent phosphoricChimassorb 944 acid_((aq)) Salt 2 l0 g  6.54 g Salt 3 l0 g  8.18 g Salt4 l0 g  9.82 g Salt 5 l0 g ll.45 g Salt 6 l0 g 13.05 g

Each salt (0.5 g, 0.1 wt percent) was bag blended with 250 g ofpolyester and 250 g of polycarbonate. The mixture was extruded understandard conditions and the pellet color and polycarbonate molecularweight (Mw) were measured using standard conditions as described above.The results of the evaluation are shown in Table VII. TABLE VIIPolycarbonate Example Salt a* b* L* Mn Mw Mz 47 2 −0.37 4.31 72.12 7,63022,097 37,601 48 3 −0.31 4.29 72.25 7,234 21,573 36,379 49 4 −0.08 5.6971.99 7,436 22,017 37,234 50 5 −0.37 4.9 72.25 7,444 22,612 38,410 51 6−0.34 3.97 72.57 7,363 22,646 38,493

The data presented in Table VII show that the phosphoric acid salts ofChimassorb 944 are effective at improving the color and suppressingtransesterification of a polyester-polycarbonate blend.

Examples 52 and 53 Preparation of Salt 7

To a 50 mL beaker was added 5.18 g of phosphorous acid and 5.0 g ofpyridine. A solid material formed. The solid material (Salt 7) wastriturated with a glass rod until a finely divided solid remained. InExample 52, Salt 7 (350 mg, 0.05 weight percent) was bag blended with350 g of polyester and 350 g of polycarbonate. The mixture was extrudedusing the procedures described above and the pellet color andpolycarbonate molecular weight (Mw) were measured using theabove-desribed procedures. In Example 53, Salt 7 (700 mg, 0.1 weightpercent) was bag blended with 350 g of polyester and 350 g ofpolycarbonate. The mixture was extruded and pelletized and the pelletcolor and polycarbonate molecular weight (Mw) were measured using theabove-described procedures. The results of the evaluation are shown inTable VIII. TABLE VIII Polycarbonate Example a* b* L* Mn Mw Mz 52 −0.386.82 68.91 7,800 23,067 38,175 53 −0.15 4.31 69.94 7,408 21,118 34,892

The data reported in Table VIII demonstrates that the phosphorous acidsalts of aromatic nitrogen-containing compounds are effective atimproving the color and suppression of transesterification inpolyester-polycarbonate blends (Comparative Example C-9 vs. Examples 52and 53).

Examples 54 and 57 Preparation of Salt 8 and 9

To a 50 mL beaker was added 4.05 g of phosphorous acid and 5.0 g oftriethylamine. A waxy material formed. The material was triturated witha glass rod until no triethylamine was visible to produce Salt 8. To a50 mL beaker was added 4.05 g of phosphorous acid and 5.0 g ofdiisopropylamine. A waxy material formed. The material was trituratedwith a glass rod until no diisopropylamine was visible to provide Salt9.

Example 54 Salt 8 (350 mg, 0.05 weight percent) was bag blended with 175g of polyester and 175 g of polycarbonate. The mixture was extruded andpelletized and the pellet color and polycarbonate molecular weight (Mw)were measured using the above-described procedures. Example 55: Salt 8(700 mg, 0.1 weight percent) was bag blended with 175 g of polyester and175 g of polycarbonate. The mixture was extruded and pelletized and thepellet color and polycarbonate molecular weight (Mw) were measured usingthe above-described procedures. Example 56 Salt 9 (350 mg, 0.05 weightpercent) was bag blended with 175 g of polyester and 175 g ofpolycarbonate. The mixture was extruded and pelletized and the pelletcolor and polycarbonate molecular weight (Mw) were measured using theabove-described procedures. Example 57: Salt 9 (700 mg, 0.1 wt percent)was bag blended with 175 g of polyester and 175 g of polycarbonate. Themixture was extruded and pelletized and the pellet color andpolycarbonate molecular weight (Mw) were measured using theabove-described procedures. The results of the evaluations of Salts 8and 9 are set forth in Table IX. TABLE IX Polycarbonate Example Salt a*b* L* Mn Mw Mz 54 8 −0.4 6.09 70.46 6432 18157 30712 55 8 −0.18 5.6969.18 5670 15619 26697 56 9 −0.38 7.11 70.29 7148 20575 34652 57 9 −0.525.74 71.46 6123 16827 28534

The data in Table IX demonstrate that the phosphorous acid salts ofaliphatic nitrogen-containing compounds are effective for improving thecolor and suppression of transesterification in polyester-polycarbonateblends (Example C-9 vs. Examples 54-57).

Comparative Examples 10-16

The additives listed below were blended in the amounts given (Amount, g)with individual polymer blends consisting of 350 g polyester and 350 gpolycarbonate: Additive No. Additive Amount 1 Calcium DihydrogenPhosphate 1.4 2 D-mannitol 1.05 3 Citric Acid 1.4 4 Zinc SulfateMonohydrate 7.0 5 Irgafos PEPQ FD-Ciba-Geigy 7.0 6 45 percent AqueousSulfuric Acid 0.77 7 3,9-Bis(octadecyloxy)-2,4,8,10-tetraoxa-3,9- 1.4diphosphaspiro[5.5]undecane 8 Phosphorous Acid 0.375

The blends were extruded and pelletized and the pellet color wasmeasured using the above-described procedures. The results of theevaluations of Additives 1-8 are set forth in Table X. TABLE X ExampleAdditive No. b* L* C-10 1 4.05 68.58 C-11 2 7.78 68.33 C-12 4 16.6359.75 C-13 3 and 5 8.29 70.83 C-14 6 8.42 67.08 C-15 7 6.02 71.35 C-16 86.68 67.4

The amounts of each additive that were used to preparepolyester-polycarbonate compositions are similar to the amountsdisclosed in the prior art. The data presented in Table X establish thatthe phosphorous acid salts of some basic organic compounds, such ashindered amine light stabilizers, are more effective at improving thecolor of polyester-polycarbonate blends than are additives described inthe prior art.

The invention has been described in detail with particular reference topreferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variationsand modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of theinvention.

1. A polymer composition comprising: (A) at least one polyester preparedby the reaction of at least one diol with at least one dicarboxylic acidor dialkyl ester thereof in the presence of a metallic catalyst; and (B)at least one salt prepared by the reaction of one or more acidicphosphorus-containing compounds with one or more basic organic compoundswhich contain nitrogen.
 2. A polymer composition according to claim 1wherein the acidic phosphorus-containing compounds are selected from thegroup of consisting of compounds having the formulas:

wherein R₁ and R₂ are independently selected from the group consistingof hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl,substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl; n is 2 to 500; and Xis selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and hydroxy; andwherein the basic organic compounds are selected from the groupconsisting of compounds having the formulas:

wherein R₁ and R₂ are independently is selected from the groupconsisting of hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl;R₃, R₄, and R₅ are independently selected from the group consisting ofhydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, andsubstituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl wherein at least one of R₃, R₄, and R₅ is asubstituent other than hydrogen; R₃ and R₄ or R₄ and R₅ collectivelyrepresent a divalent group forming a ring with the nitrogen atom towhich they are attached; R₆, R₇, R₈, and R₉ are independently selectedfrom the group consisting of hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substitutedC₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl,heteroaryl, and aryl; R₁₀ is selected from the group consisting ofhydrogen, —OR₆, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, and substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl; R₁₁ is hydrogen,C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substitutedC₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, aryl, —Y₁—R₃ or a succinimido group havingthe formula

R₁₂ is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substitutedC₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl and may be located at the 2, 3 or4 positions on the aromatic ring; the —N(R₃)(R₄) group may be located atthe 2, 3 or 4 positions on the pyridine ring of nitrogen compound (5);the —CO₂R₃ and R₁ groups may be located at any of the 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6positions of the pyridine ring of nitrogen compound (6); L₁ is adivalent linking group selected from the group consisting ofC₂-C₂₂-alkylene, —(CH₂CH₂-Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂—, C₃-C₈-cycloalkylene, arylene,and —CO-L₂-OC—; L₂ is selected from the group consisting ofC₁-C₂₂-alkylene, arylene, —(CH₂CH₂—Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂— andC₃-C₈-cycloalkylene; Y₁ is selected from the group consisting of—OC(O)—, —NHC(O)—, —O—, —S—, and —N(R₁)—; Y₂ is —O— or —N(R₁)—; R₁₃ andR₁₄ are independently selected from the group consisting of —O—R₂ and—N(R₂)₂; Z is a positive integer of up to about 20; m1 is an integerfrom 0 to about 10; n1 is a positive integer from 2 to about 12; R₁₅ andR₁₆ are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen,C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substitutedC₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, aryl, and radical A wherein radical A isselected from the group consisting of the following structures:

Radical A structures wherein * designates the position of attachment;and wherein the ratio of the number of phosphorus atoms in the acidicphosphorus-containing compound to number of basic nitrogen atoms in thebasic organic compound is about 0.05 to about
 2. 3. A polymercomposition according to claim 2 wherein the polyester of component (A)comprises: (1) diacid residues comprising at least 50 mole percentterephthalic acid residues, 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid residues ora mixture thereof; and (2) diol residues comprising at least 50 molepercent of ethylene glycol residues, cyclohexanedimethanol residues, ora mixture thereof; wherein the total of the diacid residues is equal to100 mole percent and the total of the diol residues also is equal to 100mole percent.
 4. A polymer composition according to claim 2 wherein thepolyester of component (A) comprises: (1) diacid residues comprising atleast 50 mole percent terephthalic acid residues,1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid residues or a mixture thereof; and (2)diol residues comprising at least 50 mole percent of ethylene glycolresidues, cyclohexanedimethanol residues, or a mixture thereof; andcontains up to about 200 ppmw of at least one of Ti, Co or Mn residues,wherein the total of the diacid residues is equal to 100 mole percentand the total of the diol residues also is equal to 100 mole percent. 5.A polymer composition comprising: (A) at least one polyester comprising:(1) diacid residues comprising at least 50 mole percent terephthalicacid residues; and (2) diol residues comprising at least 50 mole percentof ethylene glycol residues, cyclohexanedimethanol residues, or amixture thereof; and contains about 10 to 200 ppmw of at least one ofTi, Co or Mn residues, wherein the total of the diacid residues is equalto 100 mole percent and the total of the diol residues also is equal to100 mole percent; and (B) about 0.01 to about 0.25 weight percent basedon the total weight of the composition of at least one salt prepared bythe reaction of one or more acidic phosphorus-containing compoundsselected from the group consisting of phosphorous acid, phosphoric acidand polyphosphoric acid with one or more basic organic compounds whichcontain nitrogen and have one of the following formulas:

wherein R₁ and R₂ are independently selected from the group consistingof hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl,substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl; R₃ and R₄ areindependently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen,C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, andsubstituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl wherein at least one of R₃ and R₄ is asubstituent other than hydrogen; R₃ and R₄ collectively represent adivalent group forming a ring with the nitrogen atom to which they areattached; R₆, R₇, R₈, and R₉ are independently selected from the groupconsisting of hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl;R₁₀ is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, —OR₆,C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, andsubstituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl; R₁₁ is hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substitutedC₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl,heteroaryl, aryl, —Y₁—R₃ or a succinimido group having the formula

L₁ is a divalent linking group selected from the group consisting ofC₂-C₂₂-alkylene, —(CH₂CH₂-Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂—, C₃-C₈-cycloalkylene, arylene,and —CO-L₂-OC—; L₂ is selected from the group consisting ofC₁-C₂₂-alkylene, arylene, —(CH₂CH₂-Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂— andC₃-C₈-cycloalkylene; Y₁ is selected from the group consisting of—OC(O)—, —NHC(O)—, —O—, —S—, and —N(R₁)—; Y₂ is —O— or —N(R₁)—; Z is apositive integer of up to about 20; m1 is an integer from 0 to about 10;n1 is a positive integer from 2 to about 12; R₁₅ and R₁₆ areindependently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen,C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substitutedC₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, aryl, and radical A wherein radical A isselected from the group consisting of the following structures:

Radical A structures wherein * designates the position of attachment;wherein at least one of R₁₅ and R₁₆ is an A radical; and the ratio ofthe number of phosphorus atoms in the acidic phosphorus-containingcompound to number of basic nitrogen atoms in the basic organic compoundis about 0.05 to about
 2. 6. A composition according to claim 5 whereinthe polyester of component (A) has an inherent viscosity of about 0.4 to1.2 dL/g measured at 25° C. in a 60/40 ratio by weight ofphenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1) diacid residues comprisingabout 80 to 100 mole percent terephthalic acid residues and about 0 to20 mole percent isophthalic acid residues; and (2) diol residuescomprising about 40 to 100 mole percent 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanolresidues and 0 to about 60 mole percent ethylene glycol residues; andcomponent (B) comprises about 0.05 to about 0.15 weight percent based onthe total weight of the composition of at least one salt defined inclaim 5 wherein R₁₀ is hydrogen or alkyl and the ratio of the number ofphosphorus atoms in the acidic phosphorus-containing compound to numberof basic nitrogen atoms in the basic organic compound is about 0.25 toabout 1.1.
 7. The composition of claim 6 wherein the polyester ofcomponent (A) is has an inherent viscosity of about 0.4 to 0.8 dL/gmeasured at 25° C. in a 60/40 ratio by weight ofphenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1) diacid residues comprisingabout 80 to 100 mole percent terephthalic acid residues and about 0 to20 mole percent isophthalic acid residues; and (2) diol residuescomprising about 55 to 80 mole percent 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanolresidues and 20 to about 45 mole percent ethylene glycol residues.
 8. Acomposition according to claim 5 wherein the polyester of component (A)has an inherent viscosity of about 0.4 to 1.2 dL/g measured at 25° C. ina 60/40 ratio by weight of phenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1)diacid residues comprising about 65 to 83 mole percent terephthalic acidresidues and about 35 to 17 mole percent isophthalic acid residues; and(2) diol residues comprising about 80 to 100 mole percent1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol residues and about 0 to about 20 mole percentethylene glycol residues; and component (B) comprises about 0.05 toabout 0.15 weight percent based on the total weight of the compositionof at least one salt defined in claim 5 wherein R₁₀ is hydrogen or alkyland the ratio of the number of phosphorus atoms in the acidicphosphorus-containing compound to number of basic nitrogen atoms in thebasic organic compound is about 0.25 to about 1.1.
 9. The composition ofclaim 8 wherein the polyester of component (A) has an inherent viscosityof about 0.4 to 0.8 dL/g measured at 25° C. in a 60/40 ratio by weightof phenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1) diacid residuescomprising about 70 to 80 mole percent terephthalic acid residues andabout 30 to 20 mole percent isophthalic acid residues; and (2) diolresidues comprising about 90 to 100 mole percent1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol residues and 0 to about 10 mole percentethylene glycol residues.
 10. A composition according to claim 5 whereinthe polyester of component (A) has an inherent viscosity of about 0.4 to1.2 dL/g measured at 25° C. in a 60/40 ratio by weight ofphenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1) diacid residues comprisingat least about 80 mole percent 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acidresidues; and (2) diol residues comprising at least about 80 molepercent 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol residues; and component (B) comprisesabout 0.05 to about 0.15 weight percent based on the total weight of thecomposition of at least one salt defined in claim 5 wherein R₁₀ ishydrogen or alkyl and the ratio of the number of phosphorus atoms in theacidic phosphorus-containing compound to number of basic nitrogen atomsin the basic organic compound is about 0.25 to about 1.1.
 11. Acomposition according to claim 10 wherein the polyester of component (A)has an inherent viscosity of about 0.4 to 0.8 dL/g measured at 25° C. ina 60/40 ratio by weight of phenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1)diacid residues comprising about 100 mole percent1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid residues; (2) diol residues comprisingabout 100 mole percent 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol residues.
 12. A polymercomposition comprising: (A) at least one polyester having an inherentviscosity of about 0.4 to 1.2 dL/g measured at 25° C. in a 60/40 ratioby weight of phenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1) diacid residuescomprising at least 50 mole percent terephthalic acid residues; and (2)diol residues comprising at least 50 mole percent of ethylene glycolresidues, cyclohexanedimethanol residues, or a mixture thereof; andcontains about 10 to 200 ppmw of at least one of Ti, Co or Mn residues,wherein the total of the diacid residues is equal to 100 mole percentand the total of the diol residues also is equal to 100 mole percent;and (B) about 0.01 to about 0.25 weight percent based on the totalweight of the composition of at least one salt prepared by the reactionof phosphorous acid, with one or more basic organic compounds whichcontain nitrogen and have one of the following formulas:

wherein R₁ and R₂ are independently selected from the group consistingof hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl,substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl; R₃ and R₄ areindependently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen,C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, andsubstituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl wherein at least one of R₃ and R₄ is asubstituent other than hydrogen; R₃ and R₄ collectively represent adivalent group forming a ring with the nitrogen atom to which they areattached; R₆, R₇, R₈, and R₉ are independently selected from the groupconsisting of hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl;R₁₀ is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and C₁-C₂₂-alkyl;L₁ is a divalent linking group selected from the group consisting ofC₂-C₂₂-alkylene, —(CH₂CH₂—Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂—, C₃-C₈-cycloalkylene, arylene,and —CO-L₂-OC—; L₂ is selected from the group consisting ofC₁-C₂₂-alkylene, arylene, —(CH₂CH₂-Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂— andC₃-C₈-cycloalkylene; Y₁ is selected from the group consisting of—OC(O)—, —NHC(O)—, —O—, —S—, and —N(R₁)—; Y₂ is —O— or —N(R₁)—; Z is apositive integer of up to about 6; m1 is an integer from 0 to about 10;n1 is a positive integer from 2 to about 12; R₁₅ and R₁₆ areindependently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen,C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substitutedC₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, aryl, and radical A wherein radical A isselected from the group consisting of the following structures:

Radical A structures wherein * designates the position of attachment;wherein at least one of R₁₅ and R₁₆ represents an A radical; and theratio of the number of phosphorus atoms in the acidicphosphorus-containing compound to number of basic nitrogen atoms in thebasic organic compound is about 0.05 to about
 2. 13. A compositionaccording to claim 12 wherein the polyester of component (A) has aninherent viscosity of about 0.4 to 0.8 dL/g measured at 25° C. in a60/40 ratio by weight of phenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1)diacid residues comprising about 80 to 100 mole percent terephthalicacid residues and about 0 to 20 mole percent isophthalic acid residues;and (2) diol residues comprising about 55 to 80 mole percent1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol residues and 20 to about 45 mole percentethylene glycol residues, and component (B) comprises about 0.05 toabout 0.15 weight percent based on the total weight of the compositionof at least one salt defined in claim 12 wherein the ratio of the numberof phosphorus atoms in the acidic phosphorus-containing compound tonumber of basic nitrogen atoms in the basic organic compound is about0.25 to about 1.1.
 14. A composition according to claim 12 wherein thepolyester of component (A) has an inherent viscosity of about 0.4 to 0.8dL/g measured at 25° C. in a 60/40 ratio by weight ofphenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1) diacid residues comprisingabout 70 to 80 mole percent terephthalic acid residues and about 30 to20 mole percent isophthalic acid residues; and (2) diol residuescomprising about 90 to 100 mole percent 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanolresidues and 0 to about 10 mole percent ethylene glycol residues, andcomponent (B) comprises about 0.05 to about 0.15 weight percent based onthe total weight of the composition of at least one salt defined inclaim 12 wherein the ratio of the number of phosphorus atoms in theacidic phosphorus-containing compound to number of basic nitrogen atomsin the basic organic compound is about 0.25 to about 1.1.
 15. Acomposition according to claim 12 wherein the polyester of component (A)has an inherent viscosity of about 0.4 to 0.8 dL/g measured at 25° C. ina 60/40 ratio by weight of phenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1)diacid residues comprising at least about 90 mole percent1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid residues; and (2) diol residuescomprising at least about 90 mole percent 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanolresidues; and component (B) comprises about 0.05 to about 0.15 weightpercent based on the total weight of the composition of at least onesalt defined in claim 12 wherein the ratio of the number of phosphorusatoms in the acidic phosphorus-containing compound to number of basicnitrogen atoms in the basic organic compound is about 0.25 to about 1.1.16. A polymer composition comprising: (A) at least one polyester havingan inherent viscosity of about 0.4 to 1.2 dL/g measured at 25° C. in a60/40 ratio by weight of phenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1)diacid residues comprising at least 50 mole percent terephthalic acidresidues; and (2) diol residues comprising at least 50 mole percent ofethylene glycol residues, cyclohexanedimethanol residues, or a mixturethereof; and contains about 10 to 200 ppmw of at least one of Ti, Co orMn residues, wherein the total of the diacid residues is equal to 100mole percent and the total of the diol residues also is equal to 100mole percent; and (B) about 0.01 to about 0.25 weight percent based onthe total weight of the composition of at least one salt prepared by thereaction of phosphorous acid with a basic organic compound having theformula:

wherein R₃ and R₄ are independently selected from the group consistingof hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl,and substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl wherein at least one of R₃ and R₄ is asubstituent other than hydrogen; R₃ and R₄ collectively represent adivalent group forming a ring with the nitrogen atom to which they areattached; R₆, R₇, R₈, and R₉ are independently selected from the groupconsisting of hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl;R₁₀ is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and C₁-C₂₂-alkyl;L₁ is a divalent linking group selected from the group consisting ofC₂-C₂₂-alkylene, —(CH₂CH₂-Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂—, C₃-C₈-cycloalkylene, arylene,and —CO-L₂-OC—; L₂ is selected from the group consisting ofC₁-C₂₂-alkylene, arylene, —(CH₂CH₂—Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂— andC₃-C₈-cycloalkylene; Y₁ is selected from the group consisting of—OC(O)—, —NHC(O)—, —O—, —S—, and —N(R₁)—; and Z is a positive integer ofup to about
 6. 17. A composition according to claim 16 wherein thepolyester of component (A) has an inherent viscosity of about 0.4 to 0.8dL/g measured at 25° C. in a 60/40 ratio by weight ofphenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1) diacid residues comprisingabout 80 to 100 mole percent terephthalic acid residues and about 0 to20 mole percent isophthalic acid residues; and (2) diol residuescomprising about 55 to 80 mole percent 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanolresidues and 20 to about 45 mole percent ethylene glycol residues, andcomponent (B) comprises about 0.05 to about 0.15 weight percent based onthe total weight of the composition of the salt defined in claim 16wherein R₆=R₇=R₈=R₉=R₁₀=methyl; L, is hexamethylene; and (R₃)(R₄)N—collectively represents a morpholino group and the ratio of the numberof phosphorus atoms in the acidic phosphorus-containing compound tonumber of basic nitrogen atoms in the basic organic compound is about0.25 to about 1.1.
 18. A composition according to claim 16 wherein thepolyester of component (A) has an inherent viscosity of about 0.4 to 0.8dL/g measured at 25° C. in a 60/40 ratio by weight ofphenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1) diacid residues comprisingabout 70 to 80 mole percent terephthalic acid residues and about 30 to20 mole percent isophthalic acid residues; and (2) diol residuescomprising about 90 to 100 mole percent 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanolresidues and 0 to about 10 mole percent ethylene glycol residues, andcomponent (B) comprises about 0.05 to about 0.15 weight percent based onthe total weight of the composition of the salt defined in claim 16wherein R₆=R₇=R₈=R₉=R₁₀=methyl; L, is hexamethylene; and (R₃)(R₄)N—collectively represents a morpholino group and the ratio of the numberof phosphorus atoms in the acidic phosphorus-containing compound tonumber of basic nitrogen atoms in the basic organic compound is about0.25 to about 1.1.
 19. A composition according to claim 16 wherein thepolyester of component (A) has an inherent viscosity of about 0.4 to 0.8dL/g measured at 25° C. in a 60/40 ratio by weight ofphenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1) diacid residues comprisingat least about 90 mole percent 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acidresidues; and (2) diol residues comprising at least about 90 molepercent 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol residues; and component (B) comprisesabout 0.05 to about 0.15 weight percent based on the total weight of thecomposition of at least one salt defined in claim 16 wherein the ratioof the number of phosphorus atoms in the acidic phosphorus-containingcompound to number of basic nitrogen atoms in the basic organic compoundis about 0.25 to about 1.1.
 20. A polymer composition comprising: (A) atleast one polyester prepared by the reaction of at least one diol withat least one dicarboxylic acid or dialkyl ester thereof in the presenceof a metallic catalyst; (B) at least one salt prepared by the reactionof one or more acidic phosphorus-containing compounds with one or morebasic organic compounds which contain nitrogen; and (C) a polycarbonate.21. A polymer composition according to claim 20 wherein the acidicphosphorus compounds are selected from the group consisting of compoundshaving the formulas:

wherein R₁ and R₂ are independently selected from the group consistingof hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl,substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl; n is 2 to 500; and Xis selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and hydroxy; andwherein the basic organic compounds are selected from the groupconsisting of compounds having the formulas:

wherein R₁ and R₂ are independently is selected from the groupconsisting of hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl;R₃, R₄, and R₅ are independently selected from the group consisting ofhydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, andsubstituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl wherein at least one of R₃, R₄, and R₅ is asubstituent other than hydrogen; R₃ and R₄ or R₄ and R₅ collectivelyrepresent a divalent group forming a ring with the nitrogen atom towhich they are attached; R₆, R₇, R₈, and R₉ are independently selectedfrom the group consisting of hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substitutedC₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl,heteroaryl, and aryl; R₁₀ is selected from the group consisting ofhydrogen, —OR₆, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, and substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl; R₁₁ is hydrogen,C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substitutedC₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, aryl, —Y₁—R₃ or a succinimido group havingthe formula

R₁₂ is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substitutedC₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl and may be located at the 2, 3 or4 positions on the aromatic ring; the —N(R₃)(R) group may be located atthe 2, 3 or 4 positions on the pyridine ring of nitrogen compound (5);the —CO₂R₃ and R₁ groups may be located at any of the 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6positions of the pyridine ring of nitrogen compound (6); L₁ is adivalent linking group selected from the group consisting ofC₂-C₂₂-alkylene, —(CH₂CH₂-Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂—, C₃-C₈-cycloalkylene, arylene,and —CO-L₂-OC—; L₂ is selected from the group consisting ofC₁-C₂₂-alkylene, arylene, —(CH₂CH₂—Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂— andC₃-C₈-cycloalkylene; Y₁ is selected from the group consisting of—OC(O)—, —NHC(O)—, —O—, —S—, and —N(R₁)—; Y₂ is —O— or —N(R₁)—; R₁₃ andR₁₄ are independently selected from the group consisting of —O—R₂ and—N(R₂)₂; Z is a positive integer of up to about 20; m1 is an integerfrom 0 to about 10; n1 is a positive integer from 2 to about 12; R₁₅ andR₁₆ are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen,C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substitutedC₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, aryl, and radical A wherein radical A isselected from the group consisting of the following structures:

Radical A structures wherein * designates the position of attachment;and wherein the ratio of the number of phosphorus atoms in the acidicphosphorus-containing compound to number of basic nitrogen atoms in thebasic organic compound is about 0.05 to about
 2. 22. A polymercomposition according to claim 21 wherein the polyester of component (A)comprises: (1) diacid residues comprising at least 50 mole percentterephthalic acid residues; and (2) diol residues comprising at least 50mole percent of ethylene glycol residues, cyclohexanedimethanolresidues, or a mixture thereof; wherein the total of the diacid residuesis equal to 100 mole percent and the total of the diol residues also isequal to 100 mole percent.
 23. A polymer composition according to claim21 wherein the polyester of component (A) comprises: (1) diacid residuescomprising at least 50 mole percent terephthalic acid residues; and (2)diol residues comprising at least 50 mole percent of ethylene glycolresidues, cyclohexanedimethanol residues, or a mixture thereof; andcontains up to about 200 ppmw of at least one of Ti, Co or Mn residues,wherein the total of the diacid residues is equal to 100 mole percentand the total of the diol residues also is equal to 100 mole percent;and component (C) comprises a bisphenol A polycarbonate, wherein theweight ratio of polyester component (A) to polycarbonate component (C)is about 75:25 to about 25:75.
 24. A polymer composition comprising: (A)at least one polyester comprising: (1) diacid residues comprising atleast 50 mole percent terephthalic acid residues; and (2) diol residuescomprising at least 50 mole percent of ethylene glycol residues,cyclohexanedimethanol residues, or a mixture thereof; and contains about10 to 200 ppmw of at least one of Ti, Co or Mn residues, wherein thetotal of the diacid residues is equal to 100 mole percent and the totalof the diol residues also is equal to 100 mole percent; and (B) about0.01 to about 0.25 weight percent based on the total weight of thecomposition of at least one salt prepared by the reaction of one or moreacidic phosphorus-containing compounds selected from the groupconsisting of phosphorous acid, phosphoric acid and polyphosphoric acidwith one or more basic organic compounds which contain nitrogen and haveone of the following formulas:

wherein R₁ and R₂ are independently is selected from the groupconsisting of hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl; R₃and R₄ are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen,C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, andsubstituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl wherein at least one of R₃ and R₄ is asubstituent other than hydrogen; R₃ and R₄ collectively represent adivalent group forming a ring with the nitrogen atom to which they areattached; R₆, R₇, R₈, and R₉ are independently selected from the groupconsisting of hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl;R₁₀ is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, —OR₆,C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, andsubstituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl; R₁₁ is hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substitutedC₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl,heteroaryl, aryl, —Y₁—R₃ or a succinimido group having the formula

L₁ is a divalent linking group selected from the group consisting ofC₂-C₂₂-alkylene, —(CH₂CH₂—Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂—, C₃-C₈-cycloalkylene, arylene,and —CO-L₂-OC—; L₂ is selected from the group consisting ofC₁-C₂₂-alkylene, arylene, —(CH₂CH₂—Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂— andC₃-C₈-cycloalkylene; Y₁ is selected from the group consisting of—OC(O)—, —NHC(O)—, —O—, —S—, and —N(R₁)—; Y₂ is —O— or —N(R₁)—; Z is apositive integer of up to about 20; m1 is an integer from 0 to about 10;n1 is a positive integer from 2 to about 12; R₁₅ and R₁₆ areindependently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen,C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substitutedC₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, aryl, and radical A wherein radical A isselected from the group consisting of the following structures:

Radical A structures wherein * designates the position of attachment;wherein at least one of R₁₅ and R₁₆ is an A radical; and the ratio ofthe number of phosphorus atoms in the acidic phosphorus-containingcompound to number of basic nitrogen atoms in the basic organic compoundis about 0.05 to about 2; and (C) a polycarbonate, wherein the weightratio of polyester component (A) to polycarbonate component (C) is about75:25 to about 25:75.
 25. A composition according to claim 24 whereinthe polyester of component (A) has an inherent viscosity of about 0.4 to1.2 dL/g measured at 25° C. in a 60/40 ratio by weight ofphenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1) diacid residues comprisingabout 80 to 100 mole percent terephthalic acid residues and about 0 to20 mole percent isophthalic acid residues; and (2) diol residuescomprising about 40 to 100 mole percent 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanolresidues and 0 to about 60 mole percent ethylene glycol residues;component (B) comprises about 0.05 to about 0.15 weight percent based onthe total weight of the composition of at least one salt defined inclaim 24 wherein R₁₀ is hydrogen or alkyl and the ratio of the number ofphosphorus atoms in the acidic phosphorus-containing compound to numberof basic nitrogen atoms in the basic organic compound is about 0.25 toabout 1.1; and component (C) comprises a bisphenol A polycarbonate. 26.The composition of claim 25 wherein the polyester of component (A) ishas an inherent viscosity of about 0.4 to 0.8 dL/g measured at 25° C. ina 60/40 ratio by weight of phenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1)diacid residues comprising about 80 to 100 mole percent terephthalicacid residues and about 0 to 20 mole percent isophthalic acid residues;and (2) diol residues comprising about 55 to 80 mole percent1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol residues and 20 to about 45 mole percentethylene glycol residues.
 27. A composition according to claim 24wherein the polyester of component (A) has an inherent viscosity ofabout 0.4 to 1.2 dL/g measured at 25° C. in a 60/40 ratio by weight ofphenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1) diacid residues comprisingabout 65 to 83 mole percent terephthalic acid residues and about 35 to17 mole percent isophthalic acid residues; and (2) diol residuescomprising about 80 to 100 mole percent 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanolresidues and about 0 to about 20 mole percent ethylene glycol residues;component (B) comprises about 0.05 to about 0.15 weight percent based onthe total weight of the composition of at least one salt defined inclaim 24 wherein R₁₀ is hydrogen or alkyl and the ratio of the number ofphosphorus atoms in the acidic phosphorus-containing compound to numberof basic nitrogen atoms in the basic organic compound is about 0.25 toabout 1.1; and component (C) comprises a bisphenol A polycarbonate. 28.The composition of claim 27 wherein the polyester of component (A) hasan inherent viscosity of about 0.4 to 0.8 dL/g measured at 25° C. in a60/40 ratio by weight of phenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1)diacid residues comprising about 70 to 80 mole percent terephthalic acidresidues and about 30 to 20 mole percent isophthalic acid residues; and(2) diol residues comprising about 90 to 100 mole percent1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol residues and 0 to about 10 mole percentethylene glycol residues.
 29. A composition according to claim 24wherein the polyester of component (A) has an inherent viscosity ofabout 0.4 to 1.2 dL/g measured at 25° C. in a 60/40 ratio by weight ofphenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1) diacid residues comprisingat least about 80 mole percent 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acidresidues; and (2) diol residues comprising at least about 80 molepercent 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol residues; component (B) comprisesabout 0.05 to about 0.15 weight percent based on the total weight of thecomposition of at least one salt defined in claim 24 wherein R₁₀ ishydrogen or alkyl and the ratio of the number of phosphorus atoms in theacidic phosphorus-containing compound to number of basic nitrogen atomsin the basic organic compound is about 0.25 to about 1.1; and component(C) comprises a bisphenol A polycarbonate.
 30. A composition accordingto claim 29 wherein the polyester of component (A) has an inherentviscosity of about 0.4 to 0.8 dL/g measured at 25° C. in a 60/40 ratioby weight of phenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1) diacid residuescomprising 100 mole percent 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid residues;and (2) diol residues comprising 100 mole percent1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol residues.
 31. A polymer compositioncomprising: (A) at least one polyester having an inherent viscosity ofabout 0.4 to 1.2 dL/g measured at 25° C. in a 60/40 ratio by weight ofphenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1) diacid residues comprisingat least 50 mole percent terephthalic acid residues; and (2) diolresidues comprising at least 50 mole percent of ethylene glycolresidues, cyclohexanedimethanol residues, or a mixture thereof; andcontains about 10 to 200 ppmw of at least one of Ti, Co or Mn residues,wherein the total of the diacid residues is equal to 100 mole percentand the total of the diol residues also is equal to 100 mole percent;and (B) about 0.01 to about 0.25 weight percent based on the totalweight of the composition of at least one salt prepared by the reactionof phosphorous acid with one or more basic organic compounds whichcontain nitrogen and have one of the following formulas:

wherein R₁ and R₂ are independently selected from the group consistingof hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl,substituted C₃-C₆-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl; R₃ and R₄ areindependently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen,C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, andsubstituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl wherein at least one of R₃ and R is asubstituent other than hydrogen; R₃ and R₄ collectively represent adivalent group forming a ring with the nitrogen atom to which they areattached; R₆, R₇, R₈, and R₉ are independently selected from the groupconsisting of hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl;R₁₀ is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and C₁-C₂₂-alkyl;L₁ is a divalent linking group selected from the group consisting ofC₂-C₂₂-alkylene, —(CH₂CH₂-Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂—, C₃-C₈-cycloalkylene, arylene,and —CO-L₂-OC—; L₂ is selected from the group consisting ofC₁-C₂₂-alkylene, arylene, —(CH₂CH₂-Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂— andC₃-C₈-cycloalkylene; Y₁ is selected from the group consisting of—OC(O)—, —NHC(O)—, —O—, —S—, and —N(R₁)—; Y₂ is —O— or —N(R₁)—; Z is apositive integer of up to about 6; m1 is an integer from 0 to about 10;n1 is a positive integer from 2 to about 12; R₁₅ and R₁₆ areindependently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen,C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substitutedC₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, aryl, and radical A wherein radical A isselected from the group consisting of the following structures:

Radical A structures wherein * designates the position of attachment;wherein at least one of R₁₅ and R₁₆ represents an A radical and theratio of the number of phosphorus atoms in the acidicphosphorus-containing compound to number of basic nitrogen atoms in thebasic organic compound is about 0.05 to about 2; and (C) apolycarbonate, wherein the weight ratio of polyester component (A) topolycarbonate component (C) is about 75:25 to about 25:75.
 32. Acomposition according to claim 31 wherein the polyester of component (A)has an inherent viscosity of about 0.4 to 0.8 dL/g measured at 25° C. ina 60/40 ratio by weight of phenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1)diacid residues comprising about 80 to 100 mole percent terephthalicacid residues and about 0 to 20 mole percent isophthalic acid residues;and (2) diol residues comprising about 55 to 80 mole percent1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol residues and 20 to about 45 mole percentethylene glycol residues, component (B) comprises about 0.05 to about0.15 weight percent based on the total weight of the composition of atleast one salt defined in claim 31 wherein the ratio of the number ofphosphorus atoms in the acidic phosphorus-containing compound to numberof basic nitrogen atoms in the basic organic compound is about 0.25 toabout 1.1, and component (C) comprises a bisphenol A polycarbonate. 33.A composition according to claim 31 wherein the polyester of component(A) has an inherent viscosity of about 0.4 to 0.8 dL/g measured at 25°C. in a 60/40 ratio by weight of phenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises:(1) diacid residues comprising about 70 to 80 mole percent terephthalicacid residues and about 30 to 20 mole percent isophthalic acid residues;and (2) diol residues comprising about 90 to 100 mole percent1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol residues and 0 to about 10 mole percentethylene glycol residues, component (B) comprises about 0.05 to about0.15 weight percent based on the total weight of the composition of atleast one salt defined in claim 12 wherein the ratio of the number ofphosphorus atoms in the acidic phosphorus-containing compound to numberof basic nitrogen atoms in the basic organic compound is about 0.25 toabout 1.1, and component (C) comprises a bisphenol A polycarbonate. 34.A composition according to claim 31 wherein the polyester of component(A) has an inherent viscosity of about 0.4 to 0.8 dL/g measured at 25°C. in a 60/40 ratio by weight of phenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises:(1) diacid residues comprising at least about 90 mole percent1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid residues; and (2) diol residuescomprising at least about 90 mole percent 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanolresidues; component (B) comprises about 0.05 to about 0.15 weightpercent based on the total weight of the composition of at least onesalt defined in claim 31 wherein the ratio of the number of phosphorusatoms in the acidic phosphorus-containing compound to number of basicnitrogen atoms in the basic organic compound is about 0.25 to about 1.1;and component (C) comprises a bisphenol A polycarbonate.
 35. A polymercomposition comprising: (A) at least one polyester having an inherentviscosity of about 0.4 to 1.2 dL/g measured at 25° C. in a 60/40 ratioby weight of phenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1) diacid residuescomprising at least 50 mole percent terephthalic acid residues; and (2)diol residues comprising at least 50 mole percent of ethylene glycolresidues, cyclohexanedimethanol residues, or a mixture thereof; andcontains about 10 to 200 ppmw of at least one of Ti, Co or Mn residues,wherein the total of the diacid residues is equal to 100 mole percentand the total of the diol residues also is equal to 100 mole percent;and (B) about 0.01 to about 0.25 weight percent based on the totalweight of the composition of at least one salt prepared by the reactionof phosphorous acid with a basic organic compound having the formula:

wherein R₃ and R₄ are independently selected from the group consistingof hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl,and substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl wherein at least one of R₃ and R₄ is asubstituent other than hydrogen; R₃ and R₄ collectively represent adivalent group forming a ring with the nitrogen atom to which they areattached; R₆, R₇, R₈, and R₉ are independently selected from the groupconsisting of hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl;R₁₀ is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and alkyl; L₁ is adivalent linking group selected from the group consisting ofC₂-C₂₂-alkylene, —(CH₂CH₂—Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂—, C₃-C₈-cycloalkylene, arylene,and —CO-L₂-OC—; L₂ is selected from the group consisting ofC₁-C₂₂-alkylene, arylene, —(CH₂CH₂—Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂— andC₃-C₈-cycloalkylene; Y₁ is selected from the group consisting of—OC(O)—, —NHC(O)—, —O—, —S—, and —N(R₁)—; and Z is a positive integer ofup to about 6; and (C) a bisphenol A polycarbonate, wherein the weightratio of polyester component (A) to polycarbonate component (C) is about75:25 to about 25:75.
 36. A composition according to claim 35 whereinthe polyester of component (A) has an inherent viscosity of about 0.4 to0.8 dL/g measured at 25° C. in a 60/40 ratio by weight ofphenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1) diacid residues comprisingabout 80 to 100 mole percent terephthalic acid residues and about 0 to20 mole percent isophthalic acid residues; and (2) diol residuescomprising about 55 to 80 mole percent 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanolresidues and 20 to about 45 mole percent ethylene glycol residues, andcomponent (B) comprises about 0.05 to about 0.15 weight percent based onthe total weight of the composition of the salt defined in claim 35wherein R₆=R₇=R₈=R₉=R₁₀=methyl; L₁ is hexamethylene; and (R₃)(R₄)N—collectively represents a morpholino group and the ratio of the numberof phosphorus atoms in the acidic phosphorus-containing compound tonumber of basic nitrogen atoms in the basic organic compound is about0.25 to about 1.1.
 37. A composition according to claim 35 wherein thepolyester of component (A) has an inherent viscosity of about 0.4 to 0.8dL/g measured at 25° C. in a 60/40 ratio by weight ofphenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1) diacid residues comprisingabout 70 to 80 mole percent terephthalic acid residues and about 30 to20 mole percent isophthalic acid residues; and (2) diol residuescomprising about 90 to 100 mole percent 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanolresidues and 0 to about 10 mole percent ethylene glycol residues, andcomponent (B) comprises about 0.05 to about 0.15 weight percent based onthe total weight of the composition of the salt defined in claim 35wherein R₆=R₇=R₈=R₉=R₁₀=methyl; L₁ is hexamethylene; and (R₃)(R₄)N—collectively represents a morpholino group and the ratio of the numberof phosphorus atoms in the acidic phosphorus-containing compound tonumber of basic nitrogen atoms in the basic organic compound is about0.25 to about 1.1.
 38. A composition according to claim 35 wherein thepolyester of component (A) has an inherent viscosity of about 0.4 to 0.8dL/g measured at 25° C. in a 60/40 ratio by weight ofphenol/tetrachloroethane and comprises: (1) diacid residues comprisingat least about 90 mole percent 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acidresidues; and (2) diol residues comprising at least about 90 molepercent 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol residues; and component (B) comprisesabout 0.05 to about 0.15 weight percent based on the total weight of thecomposition of at least one salt defined in claim 35 wherein the ratioof the number of phosphorus atoms in the acidic phosphorus-containingcompound to number of basic nitrogen atoms in the basic organic compoundis about 0.25 to about 1.1.
 39. A polymer concentrate comprising: (A) atleast one polyester prepared by the reaction of at least one diol withat least one dicarboxylic acid or dialkyl ester thereof in the presenceof a metallic catalyst; and (B) up to about 10 weight percent, based onthe total weight of the polyester, of at least one salt prepared by thereaction of one or more acidic phosphorus-containing compounds and oneor more basic organic compounds which contain nitrogen.
 40. A polymerconcentrate according to claim 39 comprising: (A) a polyestercomprising: (1) diacid residues comprising at least 50 mole percentterephthalic acid residues, 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid residues ora mixture thereof; and (2) diol residues comprising at least 50 molepercent of ethylene glycol residues, cyclohexanedimethanol residues, ora mixture thereof; and up to about 200 ppmw of at least one of Ti, Co orMn residues; wherein the total of the diacid residues is equal to 100mole percent and the total of the diol residues also is equal to 100mole percent; and (B) about 5 to about 10 weight percent, based on thetotal weight of the polyester, of at least one salt prepared by thereaction of one or more acidic phosphorus-containing compounds with oneor more basic organic compounds which contain nitrogen; wherein theacidic phosphorus compounds are selected from the group consisting ofcompounds having the formulas:

wherein R₁ and R₂ are independently selected from the group consistingof hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl,substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl; n is 2 to 500; and Xis selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and hydroxy; andwherein the basic organic compounds are selected from the groupconsisting of compounds having the formulas:

wherein R₁ and R₂ are independently is selected from the groupconsisting of hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl;R₃, R₄, and R₅ are independently selected from the group consisting ofhydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, andsubstituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl wherein at least one of R₃, R₄, and R₅ is asubstituent other than hydrogen; R₃ and R₄ or R₄ and R₅ collectivelyrepresent a divalent group forming a ring with the nitrogen atom towhich they are attached; R₆, R₇, R₈, and R₉ are independently selectedfrom the group consisting of hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substitutedC₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl,heteroaryl, and aryl; R₁₀ is selected from the group consisting ofhydrogen, —OR₆, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, and substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl; R₁₁ is hydrogen,C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substitutedC₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, aryl, —Y₁—R₃ or a succinimido group havingthe formula

R₁₂ is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substitutedC₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl and may be located at the 2, 3 or4 positions on the aromatic ring; the —N(R₃)(R₄) group may be located atthe 2, 3 or 4 positions on the pyridine ring of nitrogen compound (5);the —CO₂R₃ and R₁ groups may be located at any of the 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6positions of the pyridine ring of nitrogen compound (6); L₁ is adivalent linking group selected from the group consisting ofC₂-C₂₂-alkylene, —(CH₂CH₂-Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂—, C₃-C₈-cycloalkylene, arylene,and —CO-L₂-OC—; L₂ is selected from the group consisting ofC₁-C₂₂-alkylene, arylene, —(CH₂CH₂—Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂— andC₃-C₈-cycloalkylene; Y₁ is selected from the group consisting of—OC(O)—, —NHC(O)—, —O—, —S—, and —N(R₁)—; Y₂ is —O— or —N(R₁)—; R₁₃ andR₁₄ are independently selected from the group consisting of —O—R₂ and—N(R₂)₂; Z is a positive integer of up to about 20; m1 is an integerfrom 0 to about 10; n1 is a positive integer from 2 to about 12; R₁₅ andR₁₆ are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen,C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substitutedC₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, aryl, and radical A wherein radical A isselected from the group consisting of the following structures:

Radical A structures wherein * designates the position of attachment;and wherein the ratio of the number of phosphorus atoms in the acidicphosphorus-containing compound to number of basic nitrogen atoms in thebasic organic compound is about 0.05 to about
 2. 41. A polymerconcentrate according to claim 39 comprising: (A) a polyestercomprising: (1) diacid residues comprising at least 50 mole percentterephthalic acid residues, 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid residues ora mixture thereof; and (2) diol residues comprising at least 50 molepercent of ethylene glycol residues, cyclohexanedimethanol residues, ora mixture thereof; and up to about 200 ppmw of at least one of Ti, Co orMn residues; wherein the total of the diacid residues is equal to 100mole percent and the total of the diol residues also is equal to 100mole percent; and (B) about 5 to about 10 weight percent, based on thetotal weight of the polyester, of at least one salt prepared by thereaction of one or more acidic phosphorus-containing compounds with oneor more basic organic compounds which contain nitrogen; wherein theacidic phosphorus compounds are selected from the group consisting ofphosphorous acid, phosphoric acid and polyphosphoric acid; and the basicorganic compounds which contain nitrogen are selected from the groupconsisting of compounds having the formulas:

wherein R₁ and R₂ are independently is selected from the groupconsisting of hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl; R₃and R₄ are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen,C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, andsubstituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl wherein at least one of R₃ and R₄ is asubstituent other than hydrogen; R₃ and R₄ collectively represent adivalent group forming a ring with the nitrogen atom to which they areattached; R₆, R₇, R₈, and R₉ are independently selected from the groupconsisting of hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl;R₁₀ is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, —OR₆,C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, andsubstituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl; R₁₁ is hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substitutedC₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl,heteroaryl, aryl, —Y₁—R₃ or a succinimido group having the formula

L₁ is a divalent linking group selected from the group consisting ofC₂-C₂₂-alkylene, —(CH₂CH₂-Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂—, C₃-C₈-cycloalkylene, arylene,—CO-L₂-OC—; L₂ is selected from the group consisting of C₁-C₂₂-alkylene,arylene, —(CH₂CH₂-Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂— and C₃-C₈-cycloalkylene; Y₁ is selectedfrom the group consisting of —OC(O)—, —NHC(O)—, —O—, —S—, and —N(R₁)—;Y₂ is —O— or —N(R₁)—; Z is a positive integer of up to about 20; m1 isan integer from 0 to about 10; n1 is a positive integer selected from 2to about 12; R₁₅ and R₁₆ are independently selected from the groupconsisting of hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, aryl, andradical A wherein radical A is selected from the group consisting of thefollowing structures:

Radical A structures wherein * designates the position of attachment;wherein at least one of R₁₅ and R₁₆ is an A radical; and the ratio ofthe number of phosphorus atoms in the acidic phosphorus-containingcompound to number of basic nitrogen atoms in the basic organic compoundis about 0.05 to about
 2. 42. A polymer concentrate according to claim39 comprising: (A) a polyester comprising: (1) diacid residuescomprising at least 50 mole percent terephthalic acid residues,1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid residues or a mixture thereof; and (2)diol residues comprising at least 50 mole percent of ethylene glycolresidues, cyclohexanedimethanol residues, or a mixture thereof; and upto about 200 ppmw of at least one of Ti, Co or Mn residues; wherein thetotal of the diacid residues is equal to 100 mole percent and the totalof the diol residues also is equal to 100 mole percent; and (B) about 5to about 10 weight percent, based on the total weight of the polyester,of at least one salt prepared by the reaction of one or more acidicphosphorus-containing compounds with one or more basic organic compoundswhich contain nitrogen; wherein the acidic phosphorus compounds isphosphorous acid; and the basic organic compounds which contain nitrogenare selected from the group consisting of compounds having the formulas:

wherein R₁ and R₂ are independently is selected from the groupconsisting of hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl; R₃and R₄ are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen,C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, andsubstituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl wherein at least one of R₃ and R₄ is asubstituent other than hydrogen; R₃ and R₄ collectively represent adivalent group forming a ring with the nitrogen atom to which they areattached; R₆, R₇, R₈, and R₉ are independently selected from the groupconsisting of hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl;R₁₀ is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and alkyl; L₁ is adivalent linking group selected from the group consisting ofC₂-C₂₂-alkylene, —(CH₂CH₂-Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂—, C₃-C₈-cycloalkylene, arylene,and —CO-L₂-OC—; L₂ is selected from the group consisting ofC₁-C₂₂-alkylene, arylene, —(CH₂CH₂—Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂— andC₃-C₈-cycloalkylene; Y₁ is selected from the group consisting of—OC(O)—, —NHC(O)—, —O—, —S—, and —N(R₁)—; Y₂ is —O— or —N(R₁)—; Z is apositive integer of up to about 6; m1 is an integer from 0 to about 10;n1 is a positive integer from 2 to about 12; R₁₅ and R₁₆ areindependently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen,C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substitutedC₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, aryl, and radical A wherein radical A isselected from the group consisting of the following structures:

Radical A structures wherein * designates the position of attachment;wherein at least one of R₁₅ and R₁₆ represents an A radical and theratio of the number of phosphorus atoms in the acidicphosphorus-containing compound to number of basic nitrogen atoms in thebasic organic compound is about 0.05 to about
 2. 43. A polymercomposition comprising: (A) at least one polyester comprising: (1)diacid residues comprising at least 40 mole percent terephthalic acidresidues; and (2) diol residues comprising from 52 to 75 mole percent of1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol residues and 25 to 48 mole percent of ethyleneglycol; wherein the total mole percent of the diacid residues is equalto 100 mole percent and the total mole percent of the diol residues isalso equal to 100 mole percent; (B) at least one salt prepared by thereaction of one or more acidic phosphorus-containing compounds selectedfrom the group consisting of phosphorous acid, phosphoric acid andpolyphosphoric acid with one or more basic organic compounds whichcontain nitrogen and have one of the following formulas:

wherein R₁ and R₂ are independently is selected from the groupconsisting of hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl; R₃and R₄ are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen,C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, andsubstituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl wherein at least one of R₃ and R₄ is asubstituent other than hydrogen; R₃ and R₄ collectively represent adivalent group forming a ring with the nitrogen atom to which they areattached; R₆, R₇, R₈ and R₉ are independently selected from the groupconsisting of hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl;R₁₀ is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, —OR₆,C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, andsubstituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl; R₁₁ is hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substitutedC₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl,heteroaryl, aryl, —Y₁—R₃ or a succinimido group having the formula

L₁ is a divalent linking group selected from the group consisting ofC₂-C₂₂-alkylene, —(CH₂CH₂-Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂—, C₃-C₈-cycloalkylene, arylene,and —CO-L₂-OC—; L₂ is selected from the group consisting ofC₁-C₂₂-alkylene, arylene, —(CH₂CH₂-Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂— andC₃-C₈-cycloalkylene; Y₁ is selected from the group consisting of—OC(O)—, —NHC(O)—, —O—, —S—, and —N(R₁)—; Y₂ is —O— or —N(R₁)—; Z is apositive integer of up to about 20; m1 is an integer from 0 to about 10;n1 is a positive integer from 2 to about 12; R₁₅ and R₁₆ areindependently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen,C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substitutedC₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, aryl, and radical A wherein radical A isselected from the group consisting of the following structures:

Radical A structures wherein * designates the position of attachment;wherein at least one of R₁₅ and R₁₆ is an A radical; and the ratio ofthe number of phosphorus atoms in the acidic phosphorus-containingcompound to number of basic nitrogen atoms in the basic organic compoundis about 0.05 to about
 2. 44. The polymer composition of claim 43further comprising a polycarbonate.
 45. The polymer composition of claim44 wherein the weight ratio of polyester component (A) to thepolycarbonate component is about 75:25 to about 25:75.
 46. A polymerconcentrate according to claim 44 comprising: (A) a polyestercomprising: (1) diacid residues comprising from 80 to 100 mole percentterephthalic acid residues; and (2) diol residues comprising from 52 to65 mole percent of 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol residues, and 35 to 48 molepercent of ethylene glycol; wherein the total of the diacid residues isequal to 100 mole percent and the total of the diol residues also isequal to 100 mole percent; and (B) about 5 to about 10 weight percent,based on the total weight of the polyester, of at least one saltprepared by the reaction of one or more acidic phosphorus-containingcompounds with one or more basic organic compounds which containnitrogen; wherein the acidic phosphorus compounds is phosphorous acid;and the basic organic compounds which contain nitrogen are selected fromthe group consisting of compounds having the formulas:

wherein R₁ and R₂ are independently is selected from the groupconsisting of hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl; R₃and R₄ are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen,C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, andsubstituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl wherein at least one of R₃ and R₄ is asubstituent other than hydrogen; R₃ and R₄ collectively represent adivalent group forming a ring with the nitrogen atom to which they areattached; R₆, R₇, R₈, and R₉ are independently selected from the groupconsisting of hydrogen, C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl,C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substituted C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, and aryl;R₁₀ is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and alkyl; L₁ is adivalent linking group selected from the group consisting ofC₂-C₂₂-alkylene, —(CH₂CH₂-Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂—, C₃-C₈-cycloalkylene, arylene,and —CO-L₂-OC—; L₂ is selected from the group consisting ofC₁-C₂₂-alkylene, arylene, —(CH₂CH₂—Y₁)₁₋₃—CH₂CH₂— andC₃-C₈-cycloalkylene; Y₁ is selected from the group consisting of—OC(O)—, —NHC(O)—, —O—, —S—, and —N(R₁)—; Y₂ is —O— or —N(R₁)—; Z is apositive integer of up to about 6; m1 is an integer from 0 to about 10;n1 is a positive integer from 2 to about 12; R₁₅ and R₁₆ areindependently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen,C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, substituted C₁-C₂₂-alkyl, C₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, substitutedC₃-C₈-cycloalkyl, heteroaryl, aryl, and radical A wherein radical A isselected from the group consisting of the following structures:

Radical A structures wherein * designates the position of attachment;wherein at least one of R₁₅ and R₁₆ represents an A radical and theratio of the number of phosphorus atoms in the acidicphosphorus-containing compound to number of basic nitrogen atoms in thebasic organic compound is about 0.05 to about 2.